


Propitious

by ginoza



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Black & White | Pokemon Black and White Versions
Genre: Age Difference, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-04
Updated: 2017-04-30
Packaged: 2018-03-30 21:59:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 33,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3953320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ginoza/pseuds/ginoza
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Overwhelmed by the responsibility of managing Aspertia Gym, Cheren runs. Alder/Cheren get together fic. Some very mild Black/N. Actually the most domestic nonsense ever written.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 

 **pro·pi·tious** _adjective_  
giving or indicating a good chance of success; favorably disposed toward someone

 

Cheren hates the city.

He’s been in Castelia two weeks now and barely leaves his hotel room. It’s noisy, expensive, the streets are crowded, and the restaurants are always full. He doesn’t even know what he’s doing here.

He sighs and pulls on his favorite jacket. On the way out, he gives it a second thought and grabs a scarf too, knotting it securely around his neck as he latches the door behind him. It’s approximately 8 p.m. in early November, and it’s starting to get cold. He can't remember it ever being like this in Aspertia.

Cheren has to hide his irritation as a group of people shove their way into the cramped elevator with him on the way down. He forces a smile when the overly cheery hotel doorman greets him as he leaves. He's in a bad mood today, but that isn't unusual.

He heads towards the diner he’s been eating dinner at since he arrived in the city. It’s not too impressive looking from the outside, but he likes it. More importantly, it’s slow this time of night, or at least as slow as it ever seems to get in Castelia. His usual waitress is talking to someone when he walks in and heads to his table in the corner, but she glances up and smiles kindly at him.

“I’ll be with you in just a sec,” she calls from across the restaurant.

He nods to her and idly flips through the menu even though he always ends up getting the same thing. When he glances back up, she’s coming to take his order, smile still on her face.

“Same as usual?”

“Yeah. Thank you.” Cheren hands her the menu and she hurries off. He fiddles with his silverware and napkin while he waits, never sure what to do when he’s alone at a table. He should have brought a book, but he’s read everything he has with him. He makes a mental note to find a bookstore soon. He hasn’t passed by any yet, but there has to be one _somewhere_.

He closes his eyes and rests his chin in his hand. He’s tired even though he hasn’t done anything but sit around alone in his room. The bell at the door tinkles as someone comes in, and he glances at the front disinterestedly before realizing he knows the person standing there.

Shit. Why is he here?

Cheren’s eyes quickly dart around the restaurant looking for a way of escape, but of course he finds none. He’s considering spending the next hour hiding in the bathroom when Alder notices him, face lighting up in surprise. Too late.

“Cheren!” he exclaims, immediately rushing over and pulling him out of his chair into a hug.

“Alder,” he mumbles, face smashed into the man’s chest.

“What are the odds?” Alder pulls back, putting his hands on his shoulders and taking him in. “It’s been a while. I think you’ve gotten a little taller since I last saw you. Still too skinny though.”

Cheren feels vaguely like he’s at a family reunion, and it makes him uncomfortable. He hates that Alder still treats him like a child after all this time. “I guess.” He shrugs him off and sits back down as the man takes the chair across from him.

He hasn’t seen him in at least half a year, but he notices that Alder looks basically the same as ever. He _is_ actually wearing real pants and boots for once, but that might just be because it’s cold out.

There’s an awkward silence until the waitress comes back by to drop off his food. These days, Cheren just doesn’t have much to say.

“If it isn’t Alder!” she says, clearly recognizing him as she sets Cheren’s plate down. Well, he is very recognizable. “I didn’t know you two were friends. What can I get you?”

“Yeah, I’ve known this brat for a while now.” Alder smiles at her and waves his hand briefly in Cheren’s direction. “Just coffee, thanks.”

“Alright, be back in a sec!”

“You should eat more than that,” Alder tells him once she walks away, leaning forward and frowning at his plate.

Cheren shrugs disinterestedly. “It’s fine. Salad is healthy.”

“Not if that’s all you eat,” he argues. “Plus you picked out the tomatoes. That’s the only good thing in there.”

“It’s not,” he protests. “And I hate tomatoes.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Alder nods to the waitress as she brings his coffee. He’s quiet for a moment as he stirs in the sugar. “So are you going to tell me what’s going on?” he finally asks, looking up.

Cheren sets his fork down and sighs. Obviously eating dinner in peace isn’t going to happen. This was a mistake. He should’ve just ordered room service. “What do you mean?”

“You _disappeared_ , Cheren. You left someone else in charge of the gym and ran off.” Alder pauses to take a sip of his coffee. “You know, you may think you can do whatever you want now that you’re an adult, but your parents are worried about you. A lot of people are, actually.”

Cheren groans. “You’ve talked to my parents?” How embarrassing.

“Yep,” he says. “They’ve been asking around trying to find out if anyone’s heard from you. Call them.”

“I might.”

Alder sighs, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. “Seriously, what are you doing, Cheren? I heard you haven’t even talked to Bianca in weeks.”

It's probably been longer than that, if he's being honest. “What are _you_ doing?” he snaps back lamely. He still doesn’t know the reason himself, and it isn’t like Alder can talk. He’s been wandering around the region aimlessly for years. “Why are you even in Castelia?”

He shakes his head, smiling a little. “You haven’t changed, you know. But I live here now. You’d probably know that if you ever picked up your phone. Or checked your email. Or talked to anyone, for that matter.”

Cheren bristles at that. “I talk to plenty of people.” And he does check his email. Sometimes. He just doesn’t usually answer.

“Oh yeah?” Alder raises an eyebrow. “I guess just not your friends and family then.”

“Just drop it. It’s none of your business.”

“Maybe not, but I’m still concerned. At least I can keep an eye on you now that I know you’re here. And alive.”

“If you must,” he mutters. The waitress looks in their direction and he stares at her desperately, willing her to come drop the check off so he can go home. He likes Alder, he does, and he _sort of_ appreciates the concern, but he’s too tired for this right now. She disappears into the back, and he sighs, looking down at the table and tapping his foot impatiently.

“So where are you staying, anyway?” Alder asks curiously.

Cheren relaxes a bit at the subject change and picks up his fork again, poking at a cucumber. He’s not even hungry anymore. “Castelia Inn. It’s just down the road.”

“Oh, that’s a nice place. How long?”

He shrugs. “Since the end of October.”

Alder raises his eyebrows. “You’ve been there since you left the gym? That has to be expensive.”

It is, actually. Even though it’s one of the cheapest hotels in the city, he knows he’s going to go through his savings quick if he doesn't come up with a better plan soon. Alder doesn’t need to know that though. “It’s not too bad.”

Alder doesn’t look like he believes him, but he doesn’t get the chance to say anything because their waitress is back to drop off their checks. Cheren’s out of his chair seconds later, wallet in hand, to go pay.

Alder shakes his head. “Give me that,” he says, getting up and grabbing the bill out of Cheren’s hand. He puts it on top of his own and digs out his credit card.

“I don’t need you to pay for me,” Cheren protests.

“I’m sure you don’t, but I’m still going to.”

He huffs and crosses his arms as Alder goes up the counter but doesn’t say anything more about it. He can feel Alder staring at him as the cashier runs his card and pointedly ignores him.

Alder signs the receipt, says goodbye to the waitress, and then drapes an arm around Cheren's shoulders as he walks him out. He stops when they get outside and lifts his hand to ruffle Cheren’s hair.

Cheren stares up at him in mild annoyance and pulls away. “What?”

“Nothing,” Alder replies, letting his hand fall and smiling a bit.

“… Well then, it was nice seeing you,” Cheren says. He doesn't have any intention of loitering around any longer than necessary. “Goodnight.”

Alder loosely grabs his arm as he attempts to walk away. “Wait a sec, Cheren.”

Cheren sighs and turns back around, looking up at Alder expectantly. “Yeah?”

“Meet me back here tomorrow. 7-ish?”

He hesitates for a moment. “… Alright,” he finally says. He’s not thrilled with the idea, but at the very least it’ll save him the awkwardness of eating alone. He's not sure Alder would take no for an answer, anyway.

Alder looks satisfied at that. He releases the grip on his arm. “Good. See you tomorrow, then.”

“Yeah. Night, Alder.”

“… And call your parents!” he yells after him.

He rolls his eyes, but glances over his shoulder in acknowledgement. He'll think about it.

The hotel lobby is nearly empty when he gets back. He kicks off his shoes and throws himself onto the bed as soon as he gets to his room. He rolls over and glances at the clock. It’s only 9. He grabs his laptop off the nightstand and logs into his email, only bothering to open the most recent ones.

> **FROM: Bianca  
>  SUBJECT: HI!**
> 
> **CHEREN!! You haven’t answered any of my messages but hopefully you’re doing well!**
> 
> **We miss you…**
> 
>  

> **FROM: Black  
>  SUBJECT: ??**
> 
> **Bianca called me today. What happened??**

He sighs and shuts down the computer without replying. He doesn’t know what to say anyway. He loves his friends, but…

They wouldn’t understand.

He hangs up his jacket, changes into a t-shirt, and crawls into bed. It takes him a long time to fall asleep.

 

Cheren wakes up early, mostly thanks to his neighbors slamming their door shut as they leave. He groans, debating going downstairs to get breakfast from the daily buffet. It’s too much trouble. He rolls back over and goes back to sleep, deciding to just order up to the room later.

It’s afternoon by the time he’s up, eaten, and showered. He feels kind of lazy, but supposes that it’s fine to do once in a while.

He turns his laptop back on and searches for bookstores in the area. There’s somehow only one, and it’s not that close. It doesn’t look that hard to get to though, so he attempts to memorize the directions and heads out once he’s dressed.

It’s a fifteen minute walk or so from his hotel, but he makes it there okay, and it was worth it because the store is _huge_. It’s a struggle to find what he’s looking for. The line is also insanely long. They only have one cashier working, but he really doesn’t want to come back, so he grudgingly gets in it anyway.

By the time he leaves, it’s dark, and he can’t even remember which way he came from. He heads down the street, thinking it looks sort of familiar… _maybe_ , but he ends up in a plaza instead. He knows he’s been here before, but it was long ago, and he’s pretty sure it’s nowhere near his hotel. This is what he gets for not bringing his map.

“This is not right,” he mutters to himself. He's about to try to search for his location on his phone when it starts ringing in his hand. He glances at the screen to see who’s calling. Alder. He sighs and answers.

“Hey!” Alder greets. “Just reminding you about dinner, so you can’t pretend to forget.”

“Uh, yeah, about that,” Cheren says. “I don’t know if I can make it?”

Alder snorts. He doesn’t sound very surprised. “And why is that?”

“I don’t really know where I am,” he admits, slightly embarrassed by his own incompetence.

“What are you near?”

“Uh…” Cheren glances around. “There’s a fountain?”

“Alright, I got it. Stay there. I’ll come get you,” he says, hanging up before Cheren can even begin to argue.

He sits on the edge of the fountain and waits. It’s cold enough to see his breath, and he really wishes he had dressed warmer. He didn’t expect to be out in the dark. He wraps his arms around himself as he spots Alder coming towards him.

“Hey,” Cheren says, standing up and shivering. “That was fast.”

“I was in the area, luckily. You should’ve told me you don’t know your way around yet.” Alder takes off his jacket and throws it over Cheren’s head. “Come on, let’s get you out of here before you freeze to death.”

Cheren pulls it off his head and puts it on. It’s about three times his size and seriously ugly. “I look ridiculous,” he grumbles, looking down at himself. “And you have no fashion sense.”

Alder grins at him. “I’m sorry, what was that? My jacket is so cool? Thanks for rescuing you?”

“That is definitely not what I said... but thanks, I guess.”

Alder shakes his head, putting his hand on Cheren’s back and steering him towards the street. “Let’s just go back to my place for now. It’s closer.”

“Okay,” he agrees. He doesn’t really care at this point as long as it’s warm.

He wasn’t lying when he said his apartment was close, something Cheren is grateful for when Alder unlocks the door, and he can feel the heater going. He glances around as he walks in, noticing there’s still boxes stacked up in the corner of what appears to be the living room.

“How long have you been here?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Hmm...” Alder thinks out loud, closing the door behind them. “I moved in a couple months ago? But I’ve been in and out of the city, so I haven’t gotten everything put away yet as you can see.”

Cheren has a lot more questions, like what Alder is even doing suddenly moving to Castelia, but he decides not to ask. It has nothing to do with him anyway.

“Sit down,” Alder says, gesturing towards the couch. “I’ll get you something to drink. You like tea, right?”

He nods and sits, kind of surprised. Somehow he didn’t expect Alder’s home to look so… normal. It’s nice, though sort of bare. Also his couch is really comfortable. The kitchen is open, with the exception of a bar separating it from the living room, so he can see Alder moving around. It’s an odd sight. He realizes he’s still wearing Alder’s jacket and pulls it off, laying it over the back of the couch.

After a few minutes, Alder brings out the tea and sets it on the coffee table. “You know, I could just make dinner here if you don’t feel like going anywhere?”

“That’s fine, if it isn’t too much trouble,” Cheren says. “… Wait. Are you telling me you can _cook_ things?”

“Of course I can,” he exclaims, looking mildly offended. “A hell of a lot better than you, I’m sure.”

Cheren is seriously skeptical, but intrigued. “By all means, then.” He picks up his tea and leans back on the couch, blowing on it before taking a sip.

Alder just shakes his head at him. “You’re something else. Is spaghetti good?”

“I am not. But yeah, as long as you don’t give me food poisoning.”

He rolls his eyes. “I should, for that.” He heads back into the kitchen and starts digging through a cabinet.

Cheren decides he cannot miss a second of this and gets up, relocating to the bar. He hops up on the stool with his tea and stares, oddly fascinated. Alder looks beyond out of place in his modern looking kitchen.

“You don’t have to watch,” Alder comments, turning around and giving him a look.

“I really do,” he insists.

He hates to admit it, but Alder actually does seem to know what he’s doing. The sauce doesn't even come out of a can. Cheren’s impressed. He’s also starving by the time it’s done. It occurs to him that this will be the first home cooked meal he’s had in… he doesn’t even know how long. Even when he was still in Aspertia, he rarely bothered cooking for himself. Eating out is so much easier.

“Could you get some plates?” Alder calls from the stove, turning it off and removing the pot. “They’re in the cabinet over the sink.”

“Yep,” Cheren replies. He slides off the stool and grabs two, bringing them over. He sets them on the counter and watches as Alder fills both plates with way more than he can possibly eat.

“I usually just eat in here,” Alder says, carrying his own plate out to the living room.

“Classy.” Cheren sits back down on the couch as Alder takes the armchair across from him. He blows on a forkful of spaghetti and cautiously takes a bite. “… This is actually really good,” he admits.

“Could you not sound so surprised?”

He shrugs.

They eat in silence. Alder finishes first, putting his plate down on the coffee table. “So, continuing our conversation from yesterday… do you have an explanation for me yet?”

“No.”

He narrows his eyes, leaning his elbows on the armrests.

Cheren glances up and sighs when he sees how serious Alder looks. He puts his plate down on the table next to Alder’s and crosses his arms, averting his eyes. “Fine. What do you want to know?” There’s little chance of getting out of the conversation now. He’s pretty much trapped here.

“Why did you run off without telling anyone?”

“I don’t know.”

“I don't believe that,” Alder presses. “You scared the shit out of everyone. To be honest, I was planning to go look for you myself if you didn’t contact someone soon.”

“I’m not a child,” Cheren complains, starting to get annoyed. “I know I should’ve told someone. But you don’t need to know where I am at all times. I don’t need babysitting.”

Alder sighs. “I know you’re not,” he says. “But I still worry about you, you know? I didn’t know what the hell to think when I started getting calls from people wondering where you were. I’ve known you for, what, nearly 5 years now? Am I not allowed to be concerned when you disappear?”

Cheren stares down at the floor, suddenly feeling guilty. “… I don’t know why I left the gym,” he finally says. “I don’t even have a real reason?” He pauses for a minute to try to put his thoughts together. “I was… overwhelmed. I should’ve been thankful for the job, but there was so much pressure. It’s stupid. I just panicked, I guess.”

“It’s not stupid,” he replies, shaking his head. “If you weren’t happy there, you weren’t happy there. What I don’t understand is why you didn’t tell anyone.”

“I don’t know. I thought people would be disappointed… maybe.”

“Nobody would be disappointed in you, Cheren. You gave it a good two years. You’re allowed to do other things.”

“I guess,” he says, not feeling convinced. “You and Professor Juniper went through the trouble of getting me the job though.”

“We didn’t _get you the job_ , we only suggested you for the position. You got it because you earned it. Seriously, is that what you’ve thought this whole time?”

Cheren shrugs.

Alder rubs his face, looking frustrated. “You were more than qualified. You’re a good trainer and damn smart, too. You could’ve gotten it with or without our recommendation... I don’t know why you don’t have more confidence in yourself.” He sighs. “Honestly, I was really hoping being at the gym would help you with that, but it appears it did the opposite.”

Cheren sits in silence, picking at a loose thread on his sleeve. He knows he has no self-esteem, but it embarrasses him to have it pointed out.

“Look at me, Cheren.”

He glances up from under his bangs. Alder is staring at him intently, and it makes him want to bolt out of the room.

“You can do _anything_ you want to do. _Anything_. Stop worrying about what you think you’re obligated to do. All anybody wants is for you to be happy. Okay?”

“… Alright,” he says, ducking his head.

Alder doesn't say anything else. After a while, Cheren gets up and grabs their plates, carrying them to the sink. Alder protests as he turns the water on.

“Don’t worry about that,” he insists, following Cheren into the kitchen. “I can get them later.”

“It’s fine. I owe you for yesterday anyway. I can do some dishes.”

Alder snorts and leans against the counter, watching him. “You don’t owe me anything.”

Cheren ignores him, rinsing the plates off and loading them in the dishwasher before moving onto the pans. When he starts trying to scrub down the counter, Alder snatches the towel out of his hand.

“Nope, you’re done,” he says, tossing it aside. “Also, you’ve got sauce on your face,” Alder informs him, leaning closer and easily rubbing it off with his thumb.

Cheren flushes and turns away, rubbing his mouth with the back of his hand. He's not used to people touching him so casually anymore. “I should get going,” he says. He’s been here long enough.

“Alright,” Alder agrees. “I’ll walk you back.”

“That really isn’t necessary.”

Alder sighs, looking exasperated. “It really is. It’s dark, and you’ll get lost. You don't even know where you are.”

Well, that’s probably true. “… Fine.”

Alder grabs the coat from the sofa on the way out and hands it to him wordlessly. Cheren glares at it but pulls it on without putting up a fight.

He shoves his hands in the pockets once they get outside. Somehow it’s gotten even colder. It's late enough that the streets have quieted down and stores are flipping their closed signs and locking up as Alder guides Cheren down the sidewalk.

“You said you’re staying at Castelia Inn, right?” Alder asks.

“Yeah.”

He tries to memorize the way back for future reference. He wouldn't be surprised if he ended up here again, at least if Alder has anything to do with it. Luckily it doesn’t seem too complicated. There are only a couple of turns. As long as he can actually remember where they are…

Alder insists on seeing him all the way up to his room even once he's safely inside the hotel. They reach his door and Cheren fishes his room key out of his pants pocket.

“Hey, um,” he starts, turning to face Alder. “Thanks for today.”

Alder smiles fondly at him. “I meant what I said, you know. I want you to think about what _you_ want to do.”

“I will.”

“Good,” he says. “Oh, I’ll contact the Pokemon Association for you. Only because they can be… somewhat difficult. You’re responsible for everyone else, though.”

Cheren can’t help but feel relieved. He really should do it himself, but that doesn’t mean he wants to. “Thanks.” He takes off Alder’s jacket and gives it back to him.

Alder tucks it under his arm. “You’re welcome,” he replies. “I’ll call you tomorrow?”

“Alright.”

Cheren unlocks the door and watches as Alder gets in the elevator and gives him a final wave. He nods to him as the doors slide shut and goes in his room.

He sits on his bed, scrolling through his contacts on the phone, and hits call.

“Hi, Bianca.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve been working on this for 100 years. It’s done, aside from some editing, so I'll try to get on a weekly schedule. I also made a playlist if you feel so inclined: https://8tracks.com/strangetimes/propitious
> 
> This takes place post BW2, but there may be some discrepancies since I haven’t played through it in a long time.


	2. Chapter 2

Cheren is woken up in the morning by his phone ringing. He groans, realizing he must’ve forgotten to turn down the volume after talking to Bianca, and fumbles for it on the nightstand.

“Yes?” he answers, not even bothering to open his eyes to see who it is. It’s too early for that much effort.

“Did I wake you up?” Alder asks.

“… No.”

“Liar.”

“Yeah,” Cheren admits. He grudgingly sits up and yawns, reaching for his glasses and putting them on. “What’s up?”

“Are you busy today?”

“Not exactly,” he says. “Why?”

“Do you want to help me out with a project I’m working on?”

Cheren scratches his head. That’s pretty vague, but it’s not like he has anything better to do. “Yeah, why not?” he agrees, hoping he’s not going to regret it.

“Good,” Alder says, sounding pleased. “I’ll pick you up at noon?”

He turns his head to look at the clock. He’s got a couple hours. “Alright.”

They hang up and Cheren forces himself to get out of bed to take a shower. After he’s gotten dressed, he orders a bagel at the small hotel café and takes it back up to his room.

Cheren turns on the tv to some random channel and watches half interested while he eats. There’s nothing decent on at this hour. He tosses his trash in the small can in his room when he’s finished and grabs his phone. He may as well get this over with. He dials his parents’ number, and it only rings a couple times before his mom answers.

“Hello?”

“Hi Mom,” he says.

“Cheren?!” she shouts into his ear.

He cringes and pulls the phone away from his head. “Yeah, it’s me.”

She yells at him for a while for not calling sooner. He stays silent and takes it, because he knows he deserves it. Finally she finishes with a sigh and changes the subject. “So how are you doing?” she asks.

“Fine,” he says. He doesn’t elaborate.

“Good!” Instead of pushing, she starts to fill him in on what’s been going on at home (not much, apparently). She’s in the middle of telling him about her gardening when there’s a knock on the door.

He ignores it at first, but they’re persistent. Finally he gets up to answer, half throwing the door open with irritation. He's certain he put the do not disturb sign up.

“Hey,” Alder says from the hallway.

Cheren gives Alder a blank look and turns around to check the time. As he thought, it’s nowhere near the agreed time. “Um, hang on Mom,” he tells her, distracted.

Alder’s face lights up at that. “Mom? You called her?”

Cheren ignores him. “You’re early.”

He shrugs and invites himself in, making himself comfortable in the chair Cheren was just sitting in. Cheren rolls his eyes at him and brings the phone back up to his ear.

“I have to go,” he says.

“Alright, but you better call back soon.” She sounds disappointed. He tries not to notice.

“I will. Bye, love you.”

“You didn’t have to hang up on my account,” Alder says, grinning at him. “Sorry I’m so early though. I didn’t think you’d be doing anything.”

“It’s fine.” His mother probably would’ve gone on for hours anyway. He should really be thanking him. “So where are we going?”

“You’ll see,” he says, just as vague as he was on the phone.

Cheren gives him a suspicious look. He doesn’t tend to like surprises, and considering it’s Alder, he can’t even guess what it could be. He grabs his things and follows him out the door anyway. He’s too curious at this point not to.

 

 _It’s actually almost a nice day out_ , Cheren realizes as they walk. It's still cold, but the sun is shining bright in the sky. He takes his gloves off and shoves them into his bag; he doesn’t really need them. They pass by the bookstore he was just at the day before, and he once again wonders where they’re supposed to be going.

“I’m sure your mother was happy to hear from you,” Alder comments from beside him.

“I suppose.”

“When was the last time you went to visit?”

He can’t exactly remember. “… A while,” he admits. Too long, probably.

“Don’t do that to your poor parents,” Alder scolds, sounding exasperated. “Oh, we’re here.” He suddenly stops at a large, seemingly empty building and pulls a set of keys out of his pocket.

“Wait,” Cheren says, bewildered as Alder unlocks the door. “Is this _yours_?”

“Yep!” he confirms, holding it open for Cheren. “It’s nice, right?”

Cheren looks around. The wall is half painted and there are tools everywhere, but it isn’t bad. There’s a set of stairs going up and another door in the back that must lead to another room or two, judging from how big the place looked from the outside.

“I suppose.” He’s very confused. He tells that to Alder, who laughs.

Alder shuts the door behind them and flips a light switch. “I’m opening a school here.”

Cheren blinks as the fluorescent lights flicker on above them. “What?”

“I’m opening a trainer’s school,” he repeats. He rubs his head, looking almost sheepish.

Cheren is… stunned, to say the least. _That’s_ why he’s in Castelia? They couldn’t even get him to stay at the Pokemon League half the time when he was champion and he decides to settle down and open a _school_? “… _Why?_ ” he finally asks.

Alder shrugs, crossing his arms. “I just wanted to do something. Maybe I’m having a midlife crisis.”

“You might be,” Cheren tells him. He supposes it might be understandable that Alder would get restless – he hasn’t been champion for a while now after all. But still. Of all things. “… Hold on,” he says, suddenly remembering something. “Didn’t they ask you to teach in Aspertia before?”

Alder nods. “They did. I thought about accepting, actually.”

Cheren stares at him, bewildered.

“It was bad timing I guess?” he explains. “Plus, they really wanted someone to handle both the school and the gym and I just wasn’t interested in that. Too much commitment.

He can’t blame him, really.

“And I just want my own place,” Alder continues. “I don’t like the idea of being told what I have to teach.”

Cheren can sort of understand that, too. They were pretty strict with their curriculum due to the affiliation with the gym. “Alright,” he accepts. He sits down on the step of a nearby ladder. “You know, they’re going to be pissed when this gets back to them.

Alder laughs. “I know.”

He shakes his head, amused. “So? What’s the plan here?”

“Well ,” Alder starts, bending down and picking up a paintbrush and tossing it at Cheren, “Today my plan is to con you into helping me finish painting this room.”

“Uh huh. And long term?”

He shrugs. “Ideally I’d like to open at the beginning of the year. Things are taking longer than I expected though, so… we’ll see.”

“Huh,” Cheren says. That’s… really soon. Alder sure is an optimist.

“Of course now that you’re here…” he hints, throwing him a hopeful grin.

Cheren rolls his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. I’ll help you.” It’s probably better than sitting around in his hotel room all day. Probably.

“Thanks, Cheren.”

 

They quickly fall into a routine. Alder picks Cheren up at his hotel in the morning, they head over to the school, and quit for the day at dinner time.

The first few days are spent painting the main entrance. Luckily, Cheren has at least painted his bedroom once before (though it was years ago), so he sort of knows what he’s doing. He’s finishing up the last coat when Alder gets back from picking up lunch.

“Hey,” he says, turning around. “Oh.” He wasn’t expecting Alder to have someone with him. Especially not the Castelia gym leader.

Alder shuts the door behind them and puts the bag of food down. “You remember Burgh, I assume.”

“Yeah,” Cheren nods. He hasn’t seen him in years, but the guy hasn’t changed much from what he remembers. Cheren eyes his butterfly belt buckle with amusement. He puts the paint roller down and makes his way over to them.

“Hi!” Burgh greets, taking his hand and shaking it a little too enthusiastically. “It’s been a while, huh?”

 _Not long enough_ , Cheren immediately decides. He gives Burgh a polite smile and hopes it looks halfway sincere. “It has.”

“He’s going to be helping me out with some stuff, so I figured he should stop by and see the place,” Alder explains.

“I see…”

“Actually, I mostly wanted to come see you,” Burgh corrects. “He hasn’t shut up about you all week.”

Cheren raises his eyebrows at that. He glances at Alder, but his expression is unreadable.

“I should measure for the sign while I’m here though,” he says to Alder. “Do you have a tape measure or something? I didn’t think to bring one.”

“I think so.” Alder goes over to a toolbox and digs through it for a minute before pulling one out and tossing it to him. “Here you go.”

Burgh catches it with ease. “Alright, I’ll be right back,” he tells them, going outside to the front of the building.

“ _Really?_ ” Cheren whispers once the man is out of earshot.

Alder laughs. “I know he’s… interesting, to say the least, but he’s a good guy. I think you might actually like him when you get to know him.”

Cheren gives him a skeptical look.

“He’s going to be a lot of help, so… try to be nice.”

“Fine...” He’s _always_ nice.

Burgh comes back in a moment later and hands Alder the tape measure. “I got it,” he says, pulling out a notebook and scribbling some numbers down. “It shouldn’t take long. I have the design planned out already.”

“Awesome. Thanks.”

“It’s no problem at all!” He glances at his watch. “I actually have to go, though. I have a challenger at the gym coming soon. I’ll bring the sign by when I’m done.”

“Sounds good,” Alder nods.

He directs his attention to Cheren. “It was nice seeing you!”

“You too.”

He leaves and they sit down for lunch at the folding table and chairs they set up the day before. It’s nice no longer having to sit on the floor.

“Burgh and I go way back,” Alder tells him while they eat. “As soon as I told him what I was doing here, he volunteered to help.”

“That’s nice of him,” Cheren admits.

“Yeah,” he nods. “He might not be around that much since he has gym stuff to do, but I really do think you’ll get along. Give him a chance.”

“We’ll see.”

 

As it turns out, Burgh actually is... tolerable. He shows up at least every few days and ends up being surprisingly helpful. While they work, he tells Cheren embarrassing Alder stories. It’s actually pretty fun.

The sign he finally brings in is horrendous though, and it's all Cheren can do to not tell him so.

"Does it have to be so _bright_?" he hisses to Alder, who seems unconcerned.

He just shrugs. "At least it'll attract attention?"

He sighs, knowing it's too late to do anything about it now, and grabs the ladder, dragging it outside so they can hang it up.

Burgh smiles as he sets the ladder up for him. "Thanks."

Cheren watches from the ground as Burgh climbs up and starts measuring where it should go. He hums as he works, some song Cheren vaguely recognizes his parents playing when he was a child.

"So, Cheren," he says after a while, glancing down at him. "How are you doing?"

He's caught off guard. "I'm... good," he answers, surprised by how much he means it.

"Good," Burgh replies, turning his attention back to the wall. "Alder was worried about you when you first showed up, but you seem to be doing better now."

"Was he?"

He hears Burgh laugh from the top of the ladder. "Of course. He's quite fond of you, you know."

Huh. He isn't exactly shocked - Alder has put up with him for years after all. It wasn't like he _had_ to keep in contact all that time. They barely even saw each other when he was at the gym. Still, it's not exactly something he hears often. "I probably don't deserve it," he finally says.

Burgh laughs again and gestures for Cheren to hand him the sign. He does so as Burgh continues. "Doesn't matter. He thinks you do."

He's saved from answering as Burgh pulls the hammer out of his pocket and starts banging in nails. Cheren holds the ladder steady for him, and as he waits, it suddenly hits him how content he is here. It’s surprising. He knows it can't last though. He'll help Alder as long as he can but can't stay in Castelia forever. Paying for his room has already drastically cut his savings.

Burgh finally stops hammering and climbs back down the ladder. "Done!"

Cheren catches Alder's eye through the window and waves for him to come outside, stepping back on the sidewalk to see how it looks. It's still obnoxious, but it finally feels like things are coming together.

Alder comes out and stands next to him, staring up at the sign with his hands shoved in his jacket pockets. Cheren glances at him out of the corner of his eye and can't help smiling a little at how happy he looks. This isn't his project, but he's a little happy too.

When he turns back, Burgh is staring at him, looking vaguely amused. Cheren looks away, suddenly feeling flustered and not sure why.

Alder breaks the silence a moment later. "I appreciate this, Burgh. Thanks again."

"It was no trouble," he insists, gathering the tools they bought out.

Cheren drags the ladder back in leaving Alder and Burgh to stand outside talking for awhile. Burgh peaks his head in a few minutes later.

"I've gotta get back, Cheren. See you soon." He waves goodbye.

Alder comes back in once he's gone. "What do you say we call it a day?" he asks.

Cheren raises his eyebrows and glances at his watch. "It's kinda early, but sure?"

He shrugs. "Let's get dinner on the way back."

 

They end up at a pizza place Cheren likes.

Alder orders for them, charming the waitress as he always does, while Cheren pulls out his phone to check his messages. He types out a quick reply to Bianca before sticking it back in his pocket. When he looks back up, Alder's staring at him from across the table.

"What?" he asks, confused.

Alder leans his elbows on the table, looking serious. "I have a question for you. Not a favor, because I don't want you to say yes if it isn't what you want. I've been thinking about it for a while, and Burgh agrees with me that it's a good idea."

Cheren swallows, suddenly nervous. "Okay?"

"How do you feel about working for me at the school when we open? Not teaching. I know you don't want to do that right now, but I'll still need help when it comes to the rest."

Cheren leans back in his chair, processing the idea. "I would…" he finally answers.

"But?" Alder prompts.

He sighs. He _does_ want to. He wants to stay, at least until he can figure out what the hell to do next. "I can't afford to stay here much longer," Cheren admits. "Maybe I can manage until opening, but not after that."

Alder nods. "I figured. That's why I have another question."

Cheren raises his eyebrows questioningly.

"What if you stayed in my guest room for the time being?"

He can tell Alder is completely serious, as ridiculous as the idea is. "I can't do that," he argues.

"Why not?"

“Because!”

Alder shoots him an exasperated look. “If you have an actual reason, I’ll hear you out. The important part is _do you want to_?

He sighs again, crossing his arms and mulling it over for a moment. “I would… really like to stay here and help you, but that’s too much,” he finally says.

“Why? You know I don’t mind having you. And you’d be helping me out as well.”

“ _Still_.”

“What are you planning to do next, then?”

Cheren glares at him for his blatantly obvious change in tactics. “... I don’t know,” he says honestly, deciding he can’t avoid the question. “I kind of ruined the only thing I had going for me, so.”

The waitress shows up with their pizza before Alder can reply, but he gives Cheren a smug look before turning and thanking her. Once she’s walked away, he directs his attention back to Cheren. “It looks like this is your best option then.”

Cheren doesn’t say anything for a while, instead opting to grab a slice of pizza and blow on it to cool it off. “I’ll think about it,” he finally grumbles.

Alder’s face lights up.

“That isn’t a yes!”

“Of course,” Alder says, toning it down a little but still looking obviously pleased with himself.

Cheren rolls his eyes.

 

True to his word, Cheren does think about it. A lot.

He lays in bed that night feeling unsure of himself. Truthfully, it’s not a bad idea. He has no other future plans for the time being. He still hasn’t talked to anyone from the gym, but he’s almost certain they’ve replaced him by now.

He can’t stand the idea of being even more indebted to Alder though… he’s already been more than generous over the years. Despite what he claimed, there’s no way Cheren would have gotten the job at the gym without his recommendation. It’s unbelievable Alder even wants to keep such an unreliable person around.

Cheren sighs and rolls over, telling himself he’ll make a decision later.

 

He wakes up in a shitty mood the next morning, probably thanks to the fact that he got no sleep the night before. It lasts throughout the day and finally Alder sends him home.

“You look like crap,” he tells him bluntly. “Go rest.”

Cheren does, too tired to even bother protesting. He feels slightly better when he wakes up, rolling out of bed and ordering room service.

He curls himself into a chair by the window as he waits for his food, staring out at the city. After spending most of his life in small towns, he’ll never get over how beautiful Castelia looks at night.

He wants to stay.

He still hates the crowds and the noise, but unbelievably, the last couple weeks have actually been _fun_. Cheren can’t remember the last time he’s had fun. It was a long time ago, before all of Unova was in peril, and his best friend took off to chase some boy around the world.

 

It’s not til days later that he makes a decision.

They finish the downstairs that day, and Cheren watches as Alder surveys the place, looking proud. He feels a surge of fondness for him.

There’s still a lot of work to do, but it seems like a more realistic goal now. Surely he can’t leave right in the middle.

When Alder asks him later if he’s considered the offer, he says yes.

 

Alder doesn’t mess around; the very next morning, Cheren is handed a set of keys.

“Seriously? It’s been 12 hours.”

“I may have had them made in advance,” Alder admits.

Cheren gives him an incredulous look. “What if I had said no?”

He grins. “I was fairly confident. Anyway, there’s no point in wasting more money on a hotel. You may as well move in right away.”

 _Unbelievable_. Cheren shakes his head. “I’ll move my stuff over tomorrow.”

He doesn’t exactly have much to move anyway. Most of his stuff was left behind in Aspertia. He decides he should probably do something about that now that he’ll have a more permanent place of residence than a hotel room.

“I should empty my apartment out soon,” he tells Alder.

He nods in agreement. “Do you want me to come with you?”

Cheren hesitates. He does, though he doesn’t want to admit it. “... If you don’t mind.”

“Then I will.”

“Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a bit caught up with things over the summer, but I'm ready to start working on this again.


	3. Chapter 3

A few days after he officially moves in to Alder’s, they go to Aspertia.

Mostly he needs to get everything out his old apartment, but it’s also partly an apology trip. It’s difficult facing everyone at the gym. Alder stands back and lets him stumble his way through his “I’m sorry, so sorry” speech. He planned it in advance, but it doesn’t come out quite the way he wanted. They forgive him though, so they say. Relief washes over him as he and Alder take their leave, and everyone insists that he come back to visit again soon.

Alder squeezes his shoulder once they’re outside. “I’m proud of you,” he says.

Cheren doesn’t say anything, but he can feel the tips of his ears turn pink. Alder smiles down at him as they start the walk to his apartment.

 

Unsurprisingly, everything is exactly how he left it, only slightly dustier. He puts his bag down on the kitchen table and heads into his bedroom, emptying his closet and dresser drawers into the boxes they brought. It doesn’t take long to pack all his stuff; he doesn’t have much. The place came pre-furnished, so he owns little other than his clothes, some books, and a few random trinkets he’s collected over the years. A lot of his stuff is still back at his parents’. He never did finish moving everything.

Somehow, even at the beginning, this place never seemed permanent.

“Need help?” Alder asks from the doorway.

Cheren shakes his head, back to him. “I’m almost done,” he answers over his shoulder, taping the last box shut. He tries to pick up the one with his books and staggers under the weight of it.

Alder laughs. “Give me that,” he says, quickly moving to grab it before Cheren drops it.

Cheren huffs but allows it, instead taking the lighter one with his clothes. He gives the place one last look on their way out. He’ll never come back here, and somehow he isn’t that sad about it.

 

The night they get back, he spends a while going through all his things and putting them away in exactly the right spot. Afterwards, he puts his hands on his hips and surveys his new room.

It almost feels like home now.

Alder politely raps on his door before pushing it open. “Looks good,” he says.

Cheren nods in agreement, sitting down on his new bed. “Thanks again for-” he starts.

“Nope, none of that,” Alder interrupts, holding his hand up. “You’re helping me out here too, it’s the least I can do.”

Cheren sighs. “The small amount I’ve done is hardly worth this.”

“Of course it is. And who else would be willing to live with me? This room would just sit empty, otherwise.”

“True,” Cheren agrees.

“ _Hey_.”

“Sorry,” he says insincerely, lip twitching with amusement.

Alder makes a face and sits down next to him. The mattress squeaks under his weight. “I’m glad you decided to stay.”

“Me too.”

 

Cheren wakes the next morning and almost trips over Alder sitting in the middle of the hallway. He manages to catch himself with a hand against the wall.

“Hey,” Alder says, looking up as Cheren carefully navigates around the piles of stuff he has strewn everywhere. “I thought I would finally get these boxes unpacked since someone else has to look at them now, but it’s more effort than I thought it would be.”

Cheren squats down next to him and raises an eyebrow. “I see that. Want help?”

He shrugs. “If you don’t mind.”

He doesn’t particularly. “I’m guessing you want these in the living room?” Cheren asks, picking up a pile of books and standing up.

“Yeah, thanks.”

He takes them into the next room, neatly putting them away on the nearly empty bookshelf, and comes back, peering into the box closest to him. He pulls out a small framed photo and studies it. It’s a generic family-photo type picture of Alder, a much younger Benga, and some woman he doesn’t recognize.

“Is this your wife?” Cheren asks curiously, flipping the picture around to show him. Despite all the years he’s known Alder, he’s never met her before. It’s kind of strange now that he thinks about it.

He glances at it and makes a face. “Ex-wife,” he corrects.

“What? Since when?” Cheren’s surprised. He hasn’t heard anything about this.

Alder leans backwards on his hands and thinks. “6 months or so now I guess?”

“Huh,” Cheren comments. “Do you want to talk about it?”

He shrugs. “There isn’t much to talk about. We hadn’t really been together in years anyway. She just wanted to finally make it official so she could get remarried.”

Cheren looks at it again. She’s pretty, he notices. “How did I not know about any of this?”

“Don’t take it personally,” he says, shrugging. “Hardly anyone knows.”

“Still,” Cheren persists. “I can’t believe it wasn’t in the news or anything.”

Alder laughs at that. “No one cares about me anymore. I’m glad, too. It makes life much easier.”

Cheren raises his eyebrows and decides to just put the picture aside for now. Alder can decide what he wants to do with it later.

They don’t end up going over to the school that day, but at least the apartment looks much nicer without boxes everywhere. When Cheren passes through the hallway to go to his room later, he notices the picture is gone.

 

The next couple weeks are busy. The opening date is just around the corner, and they’re running out of time.

The painting and other easy fixes are done at this point, but there’s still a lot to do. The building needs furnishing, for one, which they bicker over until Alder eventually gives up and just hands Cheren his credit card. It’s not Cheren’s fault he thinks orange and red is an acceptable color scheme for everything.

They plan out classes together, with Burgh occasionally stopping by to offer his input. He agrees to come by and help out whenever he can even though he’s busy with the gym. Cheren pulls some stuff from what he taught at Aspertia, but mostly they come up with lesson content on their own.

There’s also a ton of paperwork, which Cheren stays out of, and instead works on getting advertising going. He designs some fliers on his laptop and starts distributing them around the city. After thinking about it, he also emails them to Bianca. She has a lot of connections nowadays from her work with Professor Juniper. She emails him back, promising to get them out as soon as possible.

 

And then suddenly Cheren wakes up one day and realizes it’s mid-December. How did that happen?

“What are you planning to do for Christmas?” Alder asks that night while they’re watching tv.

“Uh.” Cheren blinks. “Nothing?” Honestly, Christmas hasn’t even crossed his mind. It’s not like he ever does anything special anyway. Last year he spent the holiday alone in his apartment. He may have called home. He doesn’t really remember.

It’s just another day when you’re alone.

“Why don’t you invite your friends here?” he suggests. “You haven’t seen them in a long time, right?”

He hasn’t, but… “Really?”

“Yeah, why not?” Alder asks.

“Huh,” Cheren says. That might be… really nice, actually. If they would even want to come. He isn't so sure. “I’ll think about it.”

He stares at his phone that night before he goes to bed and half types a message before deleting it. They probably have better things to do, he decides.

 

A couple days later they’re sitting at the kitchen bar brainstorming ideas for a lesson. Cheren stares at the notebook in front of them and clicks his pen, trying to think of anything they missed.

“So, did you ask them?” Alder asks after a while, looking over at him.

“No…”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know,” he admits, twirling the pen in his hand. “Would they come? I haven’t seen either of them in forever.”

Alder raises his eyebrows. “ _That’s_ what you’re worried about? They love you. It doesn’t matter how long it’s been.”

Cheren chews on his lip thoughtfully. “Alright,” he says, sliding off the stool and going to his room to get his phone. He types out a text and sends it, sitting the phone on the counter and staring at it. He shakes his head and makes himself get back to work.

It vibrates twice in the next few minutes, and he picks it back up and checks his messages, feeling nervous.

> **FROM: Bianca  
>  SUBJECT: YES!!**
> 
> **OF COURSE I’LL BE THERE!! : ) : ) : )**
> 
>  
> 
> **FROM: Black  
>  SUBJECT: -**
> 
> **Sure. see you soon**

He smiles down at his phone before setting it off to the side again.

“Yeah?” Alder asks.

“Yeah.”

 

The problem with actually seeing other people on Christmas, Cheren decides, is that he has to buy them presents. He can’t even remember the last time he went Christmas shopping for someone other than his parents. He hates picking out gifts; it’s stressful. How is he supposed to know what they want?

Alder is out with Burgh doing… he isn’t sure what, so he brings his laptop out to the living room and sits on the sofa. He scrolls through Amazon looking for ideas and finds nothing.

Cheren closes the lid to his laptop and sighs, letting himself fall sideways so he’s half laying down. He’s just going to have to go out and find something. Maybe Alder can show him to some stores later. They’ve been so busy that he’s still unfamiliar with areas of the city. He pulls his phone out of the pocket he isn’t laying on and texts him to ask.

 

“Cheren.”

He’s woken up by someone shaking his shoulder.

“Wha?” he asks, confused and still half asleep.

“Up,” Alder tells him, nudging him again. “That can’t be comfortable.”

It’s not, now that he’s awake. Cheren sits up, back cracking as he does. “Ow.” He finds his phone wedged in between the cushions and checks the time as Alder sits down next to him. “It’s already this late?”

“Yeah, sorry. I’m later than I thought I’d be. Still want to go?”

“Sure,” he says. He rubs his eyes, trying to wake up, and gets up to get his jacket out of his room.

Alder’s waiting by the door when he comes back out. “Ready?”

“Uh huh.” He grabs his wallet off the table by the door on their way out.

“So what were you thinking?” he asks, as they walk down the sidewalk. “You want to get something for your friends, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Hm,” Alder thinks aloud. “There’re a couple places off Mode Street that might be good.”

Cheren vaguely recognizes the area when they get there, though he hasn’t been in years. He eyes the Casteliacones stand across the street. He can’t help but notice it’s not as busy as it used to be. They start to walk by a girls’ accessories shop when something displayed in the window catches his eye.

“Just a sec,” he tells Alder, stopping to go inside.

He picks up a pink scarf with tiny Munna printed on it that reminds him of Bianca. He quickly pays and meets back Alder outside.

Black is much easier to shop for, being the more practical of the two. He ends up getting him a new bag from a store a few blocks down. Surely he needs one after all these years, Cheren reasons.

“All done?” Alder asks.

“Yeah. That was less painful than I expected.”

He still has to come up with something for Alder, but he can’t exactly look when he’s right there. Cheren sighs to himself. He’s going to be the hardest.

It’s gotten dark out while they were busy shopping, so they decide to get pretzels at a street cart and take the long way home to look at the Christmas lights. Cheren’s never been in a big city during Christmas before; he’s impressed with these peoples’ enthusiasm for decorating.

“What do you usually get Benga?” Cheren asks curiously, bags swinging idly from his hand as they walk.

Alder laughs. “He’s not into presents. I have to just send him money or he’ll say, ‘Dad, I can’t buy TM’s with this!’”

“That sounds like him.”

“Well, it’s not much fun, but it makes things easy at least.”

Cheren nods in agreement. He almost wishes that were the standard, not that he has any money.

He pauses as they make their way through the plaza, stopping to stare at the giant tree that’s been set up. He’s seen it on tv, but it’s much more impressive in person. They sure didn’t have anything like that in Nuvema or Aspertia.

“Oh, that reminds me,” Alder starts, interrupting his thoughts. “Do you want to get a tree?”

“Really?” Cheren asks. He hasn’t had a Christmas tree since he left home 5 years ago. It was just too much effort to deal with it himself when he finally got his own place to put one. He finds himself kind of excited thinking about it.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” Alder says, sounding amused. “There’s a place not far from here. Let’s go pick one out before we go home.”

He’s right; it’s only a small detour. Alder lets Cheren decide on one while he arranges to get it delivered. They agree to bring it by the next day.

Between the two of them, they have exactly zero decorations, so Cheren ends up buying some cheap ornaments the next time he goes out. It looks pretty sad, but it’s better than nothing.

 

“I think we’re done,” Cheren says, amazed. He closes the notebook they’ve been scribbling lesson plans in for the past several weeks. They’ll definitely have to do more later on, but they’ll be set for a while with these.

Alder leans back on the couch and stretches. “Finally.” He grabs the book off Cheren’s lap and tosses it onto the coffee table. “We’re officially on break.”

“We can’t go on _break_. _”_

“Sure we can. It’s almost Christmas.”

Cheren sighs at him, exasperated. “I’ve got to type it up at least.” He leans forward and picks the notebook and his laptop off the table. “Your handwriting is illegible,” he grumbles.

Alder is quiet as he types. About halfway through, he looks over at him and realizes he’s fallen asleep beside him. Cheren smiles and tugs down the blanket draped across the back of the couch to throw over him.

Once he finishes typing everything up, he saves it to print later, and closes his computer. He slumps back on the couch and closes his eyes. He's so tired. Maybe a break _is_ a good idea.

His phone vibrates as he’s about to nod off, and he picks it up off the couch next to him to check it.

> **FROM: Bianca  
>  SUBJECT: hi!!**
> 
> **I can’t wait to see you tomorrow! : )**

He grins and quickly types back a reply, telling her to travel safely. It’s been a long time. He can’t wait.

Cheren glances at the time and decides he better go to bed. “Night, Alder,” he whispers, turning the living room light out as he leaves.

 


	4. Chapter 4

Bianca is late, which is nothing new, but Cheren worries just the same. He taps his foot impatiently, and Alder gives him a look from the kitchen.

“I’m sure she’s _fine_ ,” he says.

“Maybe. Or maybe she’s _not_ , and-” Cheren’s cut off by a light knock at the door, and he jumps up and throws it open so hard the hinges squeak. Relief washes over him as he sees her standing there.

Bianca is in his arms immediately, and he hugs her tightly.

“I missed you,” she mumbles into his shoulder.

“I missed you too,” he says, and she pulls back. He notices she’s changed her hair again since the last time he saw her. It’s longer now, but otherwise she looks the same as he remembers. “Come in,” he tells her, closing the door and tugging her into the living room.

He leads Bianca to the sofa and hovers around her as she makes herself comfortable. “Do you need anything?”

“I’m good!” she says, shaking her head. “You’re wearing your glasses again!” she points out excitedly. “We match!”

“Oh. Yeah.” Cheren reaches to push them up, shrugging. “The contacts got annoying,” he explains. He only started wearing them because his glasses got in the way during battles. It’s not exactly an issue any more.

Alder comes out from the kitchen to greet her. “Bianca!” he smiles. “It’s been awhile.”

“It has! Thank you for taking care of Cheren.”

Cheren makes a face at that, and Alder laughs. “Don’t say that in front of him. Besides, he does quite a bit of taking care of me too. You should see him when he starts cleaning.”

Bianca grins. “I believe it. He’s always been a neat freak.”

“I am not,” he grumbles, sitting down next to her.

She pats his arm. “You are, but I love you anyway. I remember when we were kids, you used to come over to my house and start cleaning my room.”

He flushes. “Well, it was very messy. Your father was always yelling at you.”

Bianca shakes her head at him fondly, pulling off her hat and gloves and placing them over the arm of the couch. “So when is Black coming, did he say?”

Cheren looks down at his watch. “He said late afternoon, so it’ll probably be a while.” Black isn’t exactly great at being on time either, although he’s a lot better than Bianca.

Alder heads off down the hallway as they talk, reappearing a few minutes later with his coat on. “I’ve gotta go out for a little bit. What do you guys think about pizza for dinner?”

“Fine with me,” Cheren shrugs. He looks to Bianca questioningly.

“That would be great, thank you!”

He nods, heading out and shutting the door quietly behind him. Cheren suspects he doesn’t actually have anything to do and just wants to give them time to hang out. It’s nice of him, but he would expect nothing else of Alder. He’s always nice.

“So, what do you want to do?” he asks Bianca. “We probably shouldn’t leave in case Black shows up early.”

“Show me around! This place is nice. I can’t believe you’re actually living with someone though… I never thought I’d see the day.”

Cheren wonders if he should be insulted by that as he stands up, offering her his hand to pull her up. “I’ll give you a tour then.”

 

They hang out in his room catching up until Black arrives.

Cheren can’t even remember the last time they were all together. It feels like old times again. He reminds himself to thank Alder later. He definitely wouldn’t have arranged this on his own, but he’s really glad he did.

The three of them end up squished together on Cheren’s bed with Black telling them about what he’s been doing over the last year.

“So, how’s N?” Cheren asks carefully. He initially disapproved of Black running off after him, but over time he’s accepted it. He’s not sure how he feels about N still, but Cheren’s accepted that he makes Black happy. That’s good enough for him.

Black practically lights up at his mention. “He’s doing really well!” He looks like he wants to say more but changes the subject instead, apparently thinking better of it. Maybe he’s worried Cheren doesn’t want to hear it. “So, living with _Alder_? How did that happen?”

Cheren shrugs. “I ran into him one day, and he conned me into helping him. And here we are.”

“Huh,” Black says, raising his eyebrows. “Hey, remember when you used to have a gigantic crush on him?” He grins obnoxiously.

“I did not!” Cheren argues, turning bright red. He was _young_. And wouldn’t call it a “crush.” He hears Bianca giggling beside him and nudges her with his elbow. “Don’t agree with him.” She laughs anyway.

A knock on his door frame makes him freeze and turn around in horror.

“I’m back. With pizza,” Alder announces.

He looks normal, and Cheren prays to God that he didn’t hear any of that conversation. He disappears down the hallway, and Cheren turns back around to shoot a murderous look at Black.

Black just shrugs, looking amused. “Sorry,” he says, not actually sounding sorry at all.

Bianca continues laughing.

“I hate both of you,” Cheren tells them as he climbs off his bed.

 

They all sleep in the next morning, having stayed up half the night talking and playing games.

Cheren wakes up first, carefully crawling out of bed so he doesn’t wake up Bianca, who’s sound asleep beside him. He grabs his phone off the nightstand and tip toes over Black on the floor.

He rubs his eyes as he walks into the kitchen. Alder’s already at the bar reading the newspaper. He looks up when Cheren makes his way over.

“Morning,” Cheren mumbles. “I need coffee.” He pours a cup into his favorite mug and sits down next to him.

“Merry Christmas Eve,” Alder greets.

“... Huh. I guess it is,” he realizes. “You too.”

They’re both silent for a while as Cheren drinks his coffee and attempts to wake up.

Alder finally breaks the silence. “So, I heard you had a crush on me,” he says, not even looking up from his newspaper and casually turning the page.

Cheren almost spits his coffee out. “Excuse me?” he manages, already feeling himself turn red.

“Just what I heard,” Alder says, finally glancing up and looking outrageously amused.

He glares at him, deciding he’s definitely going to hit Black later. “You know, it’s generally common courtesy to pretend you didn’t hear embarrassing things.”

“Oh, is it?”

Cheren is in the midst of coming up with his retort when he hears a noise behind him. He turns slightly and sees Bianca has woken up. He’s never been so thankful for a distraction.

“Morning Cheren,” she says, looking hesitant and glancing between the two of them.

He jumps up. “Bianca. I’ll make you breakfast.”

She starts to protest, but he pushes her towards his now unoccupied seat and busies himself with getting the frying pan out. He can feel Alder’s eyes on him, and he studiously ignores him.

“What kind of eggs do you want?” he asks her.

“Scrambled, please!”

Cheren makes her eggs and toast as quickly as possible and slides the plate in front of her, still refusing to look at Alder. He retreats to his room with the excuse of going to wake Black up.

Black turns out to already be awake, sitting up in his bed of blankets on the floor and texting someone. N, Cheren guesses.

“Hey,” Black says, putting his phone away and looking up at Cheren.

Cheren glares at him. This is entirely his fault. Black just seems confused.

 

They spend most of the day wandering around the city. Cheren shows them the school, and they look impressed.

“... What’s up with that sign though?” Black asks. “It’s very… pink.”

“Don’t ask,” is all Cheren can say.

Neither of them have been to Castelia in years, and Bianca in particular practically bounces in excitement. She takes ten thousand pictures, forcing Cheren into most of them. He grumbles complaints but can’t really bring himself to refuse.

He takes them to the diner he met Alder at that night. He hasn’t been in a while. The same waitress is there and smiles when she sees him.

“I haven’t seen _you_ in a long time!” she says when she comes over to their table. “Let me know when you guys are ready.”

Cheren thanks her and feels bad about not coming back sooner. It’s out of the way now, but it’s worth the trip. He still likes this place the most out of everywhere they go.

After they order, he pulls his phone out to look up the address to a store Bianca wants to go to. “What’s it called again?” he asks.

As he’s typing in the name, he gets a text message from Alder and sighs. He’s half tempted to ignore it but decides not to just in case it’s something important.

> **FROM: Alder  
>  SUBJECT: -**
> 
> **Hey. Sorry about this morning. I was just teasing you.**

Cheren doesn’t know what to say to that, so he chooses not to answer. He goes back to looking the place up and finds it’s not too hard to get to. “It’s pretty close, so we can go after this,” he tells her.

“Yay!”

 

They spend the rest of Christmas Eve in front of the tv watching bad Christmas movies and eating popcorn. Alder ends up joining them, although Cheren’s not sure if he actually _wants_ to or if he just has nothing else to do with his living room having been invaded.

Belatedly Cheren realizes he never replied to his text. Well, it’s too late now. He ends up watching him instead of the tv. Alder notices after a few minutes and gives him a curious look. Cheren just shrugs and turns back to the movie.

Eventually he feels Bianca’s head fall onto his shoulder and realizes she’s fallen asleep. Cheren gently shakes her awake. “Go to bed,” he says.

“Okay…” she mumbles, stumbling off to his room. Black follows after her a few minutes later.

Cheren figures he may as well finish the movie, as bad as it may be. He and Alder watch in silence until it’s finally over. When the credits start, Cheren gets up and stretches.

“Night.”

Alder glances up at him. “Goodnight.”

He hesitates for a second on his way out, but Alder has already looked away, so Cheren just frowns and goes to his room. He crawls into his bed next to Bianca, who’s already asleep again, and puts his phone on the nightstand next to his glasses. He lays in bed for a minute before sighing and picking it back up, answering Alder’s text from hours ago. “It’s okay,” he types.

He notices the time before he turns the screen off and realizes it’s already Christmas.

 

It ends up being the best Christmas Cheren’s had in years. To be fair, that isn’t saying a whole lot, but it’s true none the less. He wishes they could do this every year, but he knows that isn’t very likely. They’re all busy.

For maybe the first time in their friendship, he’s the last one up, and he wakes to Bianca poking him on the cheek.

“Noo,” he mumbles, turning over to try to escape. He pulls the blankets over his face, but she just tugs them back down.

“It’s Christmas! Get up!”

He feels Black climb up onto the bed, mattress dipping under his weight. He joins Bianca in poking him, and Cheren groans.

“ _Fine_ ,” he says, forcing himself to sit up. He slides his glasses on, and Bianca and Black tug him out of bed, each taking an arm.

Alder is up and sitting in his chair when they drag him out into the living room. He looks at them and laughs at the sight. “Morning.”

“Morning,” Bianca and Black chorus.

Cheren just groans again. He’s glad everyone finds this so funny. Where did their sudden energy come from? It sure wasn’t there yesterday.

Bianca hands out all the gifts from under the tree as he slumps down on the couch, barely awake. This should probably be his job, he realizes, as he’s the one who actually lives here, but he can’t bring himself to care at the moment. She appears to be enjoying herself anyway.

They make Cheren open his presents first. He ends up getting a bunch of books, which is fine with him. Bianca also gives him a Pokedoll. He rolls his eyes at that but secretly thinks it’s pretty cute.

Bianca puts on the scarf he got her as soon as she opens it. “It’s so cute!” she says, hugging him. “Thank you, Cheren!”

Alder goes last, and Cheren swallows as he opens the box. It took him forever to find something, and he’s still not too sure about it. He pulls the book out and gives Cheren a questioning look.

“It’s a schedule book. Since you’ll be a teacher now, you know,” he explains, uncomfortably.

Alder smiles, which Cheren takes as a good sign. “Thanks, Cheren.”

“You’re welcome.”

 

On Christmas afternoon, they all go to the nearby park to let their Pokemon out. Cheren’s been here a few times since he got to Castelia but admittedly probably not enough. He feels guilty about it and silently promises himself to come by more often. Unfortunately the city isn’t very Pokemon friendly with all the crowds.

They sit on some park benches facing the lake and watch as their Pokemon run around. Cheren’s Herdier comes back and sits next to him after a while. He pats his head fondly.

“This is one of the few things I hate about living here,” Alder says from his other side.

Cheren nods in agreement. “What made you pick Castelia in particular?” he asks after a moment, realizing he still doesn’t know.

Alder shrugs. “For one, there wasn’t an active school here yet. That seemed crazy to me considering how many people live in the city. Two, Burgh was really interested in the idea when I mentioned it to him, but there’s no way he could’ve been involved if it was anywhere else. He’s too busy to fly all over the place.”

“Makes sense.”

“I do like it here though. Most of the time.” He turns to Cheren. “What about you?”

Cheren chews on his lip thoughtfully. “At first I came here because I knew I could stay anonymous. I hated it initially… but it’s grown on me,” he admits.

“Good.”

 

When the sun sets, they go back to the apartment.

“I was going to make something for dinner,” Alder says. “But on second thought, how about Chinese food?”

“Festive,” Cheren comments. “Why not?”

Everyone decides on what they want, and Cheren calls it in. He spends the rest of Christmas eating noodles in his pajamas.

It’s pretty great.

 

Bianca and Black have to leave the next day. Cheren wakes up dreading it. He wonders if they’ll ever get the chance to do this again and figures probably not.

Bianca stirs beside him and opens her eyes. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

 

When they’re finally gone, he shuts the front door and throws himself onto the couch dejectedly. Cheren picks up the Snivy Pokedoll that Bianca gave him and sighs.

“You know, they can come back whenever you want,” Alder tells him from the kitchen.

“I guess.”

He stands up, taking the Pokedoll with him, and goes to his room. He ends up putting it on his dresser and pauses for a moment to look at it. It reminds him of the day they first got their Pokemon and left Nuvema Town. It didn’t occur to him then that it would be for good.

It seems like an eternity ago.

His phone vibrates in his pocket, and he pulls it out.

> **FROM: Bianca  
>  SUBJECT: wah!!!!!**
> 
> **I miss you already! xo**

She’s attached a couple pictures she took when they were exploring the city, and he smiles, deciding to print them out when he can. He looks terrible in them, but who cares.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas!! Will try to have another chapter out by then, but we'll see.


	5. Chapter 5

After Christmas, Cheren throws himself into his work. The official opening is only two weeks off, which is terrifying. It’s _exciting_ too. But mostly terrifying. The preview event is even sooner.

It’s New Year’s Eve, and the day has been spent running around buying last minute supplies. He pulls out the list he made with Alder and runs down it again, deciding he’s done for the day after he stops by the bookstore.

He shoves the list back into his pocket as he walks through the doors, quickly making his way to the reference section. He was overwhelmed the first time he came here, but after frequent visits he knows his way around fairly well.

Cheren pulls several books off the shelf and flips through them, putting one back and keeping the others. He starts a pile on the ground next to him and continues looking. Between himself, Alder, and Burgh, they already have quite a few, but the school bookshelf still looks pretty sparse. He wishes he had his books from home, but he doesn’t want to trouble his parents to send them.

A few minutes later he has as many as he can feasibly carry home, and he makes his way to the checkout. He smiles at the cashier, a middle aged woman he recognizes from his last visit, and drops them on the counter.

“Hello! Find everything okay?”

“I did, thanks.”

She chit chats while she rings up his books. Cheren’s always been terrible at small talk, but he answers as well as he can manage. She seems like a nice woman. Finally she gives him the total, and he hands her Alder’s credit card.

“See you next time!” she calls as he walks out of the store.

 

He’s seriously regretting buying so much by the time he gets back to the apartment. He finally sets the bags down outside the door to dig his keys out. His arms are killing him.

Alder’s on the phone when he walks in and dumps the bags onto the coffee table with a thud. He looks over to him though and shakes his head when he sees how much Cheren’s managed to bring home in one trip.

“Sure, see you later,” he says into the phone distractedly and then hangs up. “I told you I could go with you,” he tells Cheren.

Cheren just shrugs. “I got most of it. I might have to go back one more time.”

Alder just sighs at him before changing the subject. “Anyway, Burgh wants us to come by for dinner later.”

“Oh?” Cheren asks. He realizes he hasn’t actually been to Burgh’s home yet. He’s not even sure where he lives exactly. He collapses on the couch, rubbing his sore arm, and decides that he’s not moving until it’s time to go.

 

Burgh turns out to live all the way across the city. Cheren stares wide eyed at the apartment complex. It’s _huge_. A doorman actually holds the door open for them as they enter. He’s been in the city a while now, but he’s not sure he’ll ever get used to this kind of thing.

Alder leads him to the elevator and pushes the button for the top floor. Cheren glances around as they wait for it to stop. Even the elevator screams money. He suddenly feels underdressed in his casual button up. Why didn’t he wear a tie?

They knock on Burgh’s door, and it opens almost immediately.

“Welcome!” he says enthusiastically. “Come in!”

Cheren feels more comfortable once they’re inside. It’s more what he would’ve expected from Burgh: bright colors and art supplies scattered haphazardly all over.

“Feel free to sit down,” Burgh says, before taking their coats and disappearing down the hall.

Cheren nods, looking around at the art on the wall, before wandering over to the couch. He raises his eyebrows when he realizes there’s nowhere _to_ actually sit.

Alder laughs when he sees his face. “It’s always like this,” he tells him. “You’ve just gotta move all his crap.” He starts picking up sketchbooks and piling them on the coffee table, making a spot for himself and Cheren.

They sit on the newly cleared couch, and Burgh comes back out.

“Need any help?” Alder asks.

“Nah, it’s almost done anyway. Just waiting for the timer.” He disappears into the kitchen for a moment to check it and then returns to hover in the doorway as he waits. “Anything exciting happen today? Sorry I couldn’t stop by.”

“Not much. Same old.”

“I went to the bookstore,” Cheren says with a shrug.

“Oh, very unusual,” Burgh teases. “I don’t blame you though. I must admit I go there often myself.” The timer goes off with a faint ‘ding,’ and he’s gone again.

Burgh calls them in a few minutes later. Cheren’s surprised to see he’s actually set the kitchen table, fancy napkins and all. He tries to remember the last time he sat down to eat at a real table and can’t. It’s not really something he misses, but it’s nice once in a while.

He sits down on the far side, across from Alder, as Burgh brings the food over. It looks incredible. They’ve been so busy that they haven’t been cooking recently - mostly living off of pizza and whatever else can be delivered or picked up on the way home.

“What do you want to drink?” Burgh asks. “I just opened a bottle of wine.”

“I’m still underage…” Cheren reminds him. “Just water please?” Alder laughs a little, and he glares at him. He doesn’t like breaking rules unnecessarily. It’s not like he has much interest in drinking anyway.

“Of course, Cheren. I forgot. I apologize.”

“I’ll have some wine,” Alder says. “Being that I am not underage.” He laughs again, and Cheren kicks him under the table. “Ow.”

Sometimes Cheren finds it hard to believe that he’s the younger one.

Burgh comes back and hands them their glasses, taking his seat at the head of the table. “When _is_ your birthday, Cheren? You’re 20, right?”

Cheren shrugs. “It’s in March,” he says, being intentionally vague. He hates when people make a big deal out of his birthday. Not that it happens often.

“When in March?” he persists.

“... The 19th,” Cheren finally says. They’ll probably forget by then anyway, he decides. It’s still over 2 months away.

Luckily the subject is dropped after they start eating. Cheren piles macaroni onto his plate, wondering how Burgh knew it was his favorite.

“This is amazing,” Alder says after a few minutes of comfortable silence. “Please move in with us so I never have to cook again.”

“It really is,” Cheren agrees.

“See, he never says that when _I_ cook,” Alder adds.

Burgh laughs. “Then you’d get spoiled. Besides, I wouldn’t want to get in the way of the little married thing you two have going on.”

Cheren chokes on his macaroni, immediately feeling his face get hot.

“What married thing?” Alder asks, raising his eyebrows.

“Yes, _please_ explain,” Cheren adds.

“Oh,” he says, glancing between them. “Oops. Nevermind.”

Alder just shrugs it off and continues eating. Cheren avoids eye contact with either of them for the rest of the meal.

 

Cheren had assumed they’d be going home after dinner, but apparently it’s a whole New Year’s Eve event.

Burgh tries to coerce him into a game of monopoly. Cheren finally relents because he’s actually great at monopoly. He played countless times as a kid and is pleased to have beaten Black and Bianca every time. Black refuses to play it with him anymore.

They relocate all the stuff Alder shoved onto the coffee table earlier and set it up on there. Cheren decides he really doesn’t want to be squished between the two of them on the couch after that awkward dinner comment, so he kneels on the ground on the other side of the table. It’s not comfortable, but it’s certainly better than being next to Alder at the moment.

“You go first then, Cheren,” Burgh says, as he finishes handing out their money.

“Alright,” he agrees, taking the dice. He happens to glance up at Alder as he rolls and finds him staring at him. He looks away and moves his piece.

“Buying it?” Burgh asks.

“Yeah,” Cheren says, leaning forward to see the price. Once he had all these things memorized, but it’s been a long time now. He hands Burgh the money and places the card off to the side.

The game doesn’t end for well over an hour. Cheren destroys them.

 

He helps Burgh pack everything back up after they’re finished and then eyes the clock. He wonders if they can finally leave yet. He’s getting kind of tired.

“Oh, the countdown will start soon!” Burgh says suddenly, grabbing the tv remote to turn it on.

Apparently not.

Burgh sits back down on the end of the couch, clearly making a space for Cheren. He shoots him a look of perfect innocence as he pats the seat between he and Alder.

Cheren tries not to react as he stiffly squeezes by him to sit down. It’s as cramped as he expected. He sits as close to Burgh as he possibly can without being too obvious, but it doesn’t make much difference. Alder’s leg brushes against his, and Cheren visibly flinches. Burgh gives him an amused look, but Cheren ignores it.

Alder doesn’t seem to mind the situation but then Cheren can never tell with him. He and Burgh talk over Cheren’s head as he stares uncomfortably at the television.

“We should go next year,” Burgh says, nudging Cheren with his elbow and nodding towards the screen showing the masses of people downtown.

“I don’t know about that.” Actually he can’t imagine anything worse. Castelia is bad enough on a normal day. Besides, Cheren’s not even sure where he’ll be a year from now. Probably long gone.

“It’d be fun,” he insists. “I’ve been a couple times. Remember when we went years ago, Alder?”

Alder laughs. He’s so close that Cheren can feel it vibrate through him. “Yeah. It was… interesting. I also remember you kissing some innocent bystander at midnight.”

“That’s what you’re supposed to do!”

Cheren snorts. Somehow it isn’t hard to imagine Burgh doing that at all.

“I wouldn’t mind going again though,” Alder continues. “It was fun.”

The countdown finally starts, and Burgh counts loudly and enthusiastically along with the tv. He tries to get Cheren to join him, but he refuses. He does at least clap lightly when the ball drops.

Burgh doesn’t let them leave until long after midnight. Cheren’s exhausted by the time they finally get back home. He mumbles a “goodnight” to Alder and heads off to bed immediately.

 

New Year’s Day is a quiet one.

Cheren still feels somewhat awkward around Alder for reasons he’s not entirely sure of. It doesn’t help that Alder insists they take the day off, so Cheren has nothing to do and no particular excuse to get out of the apartment. It feels unnatural to just lay about after being busy every day.

He finally convinces himself to leave his room and be social in the evening. Alder’s in his chair working on something when Cheren enters the living room, but he pauses to look up and smile when he hears him come in.

“Hey,” he says easily.

Cheren isn’t sure how to feel about the fact that he’s the only one this bothered by a silly joke.

 

Alder supposedly has something to do the next day which means Cheren is once again left to his own devices. He doesn’t know what to do with himself.

He spends the morning reading in his room. When he ventures out in the afternoon, the apartment is still empty. He can’t think of anything else to do, so he decides to go out and wander around the city, eventually ending up at the Pokemon park again.

He lets his Pokemon out of their balls and makes himself comfortable on the ground next to the lake, realizing he should probably call home. He never got around to it on Christmas. His mom probably isn’t pleased.

She answers after only a couple rings. “Cheren!” she says. The surprise in her voice makes him feel extra guilty. “Happy New Year!”

“Hi Mom. You too.”

She complains about him not coming home for Christmas (he never does) before asking how he’s been.

“I’ve been… good. Black and Bianca came to stay with us for a few days, so that was nice.”

“Good,” she says, sounding happy. “You need to socialize more. And how’s Alder?”

“Uh,” Cheren pauses to think. “He’s fine I guess?” Alder pretty much always seems fine.

“He’s such a nice man. Bring him home with you when you come to visit,” she insists.

Cheren rolls his eyes. For some reason his mom _loves_ Alder even though she’s only met him a couple times. Maybe more than she loves her own son. “We’ll see.” He kind of doubts it.

She ends up cutting the call short. Apparently she has a lunch date with Bianca’s mother. “You need to start calling more often!” she scolds before she hangs up.

“I know. I will,” he promises. “Bye Mom.”

He sticks his phone back into his pocket. He hasn’t actually been home in a long time. Nuvema was just _so far_ from Aspertia. It’s not quite as major a trip now though, so he resolves himself to go visit sometime soon.

Cheren stands up and calls his Pokemon back, deciding to go home.

 

He lays around on the couch for the rest of the day, reading again. Alder gets back in the evening and he glances up from his book at him. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Alder greets, taking his coat off. He collapses in his chair across from Cheren and sighs. “So what did you do today?” he asks after a moment. He looks worn out.

Cheren shrugs. “Not much. Talked to my mom. She says hi, by the way.”

“I hope she’s doing well.”

“Seems like it. What did _you_ do today?” Cheren asks, raising his eyebrows. It’s unusual that Alder doesn’t tell him where he’s going. Though to be fair, he didn’t really give him an opportunity to.

“Business stuff,” Alder says, groaning. “It was horrible. I had to go talk to the lawyer. Had no idea what he was talking about half the time.”

“Sounds fun.”

“I should’ve made you come too. You’re smarter than me.”

“Well…” Cheren doesn’t argue with that. Alder makes a face at him and he hides his grin behind his book. “Only in some ways. I’m sure he knows what he’s doing anyway.”

He doesn’t say anything after that, so Cheren goes back to his reading. He’s managed to get through the next few chapters when Alder stands up.

“I’m going to bed,” he announces. “Today was strangely tiring.”

“Kay.” Cheren’s in the midst of turning the page when he feels Alder ruffle his hair. He bats at his hand. “Stop harassing me, and go to bed.”

Alder laughs. “Night,” he says, going to his room and closing the door quietly behind him.

Cheren realizes he’s still smiling a moment later and rolls his eyes at himself. He glances at the clock and decides he can finish his book some other day. He bookmarks it and leaves it on the coffee table, cutting the lights out behind him.

 

There’s exactly five days left until the preview event when Cheren realizes _they can do this_.

He’d initially thought Alder was crazy for trying to open so soon, and he _was_. What in the hell would he have done if he hadn’t had help? They really managed to get it done though. He crosses the last major thing off of their to-do list, stunned. Everything left is a minor detail and can easily be taken care in the next day or so.

He walks into Alder’s soon to be classroom to see him casually spinning around in his new chair.

“I’m testing it,” he clarifies, once he sees the amused look on Cheren’s face.

“Uh huh,” Cheren says, walking over to his desk. He sets their list down in front of Alder and leans over to point at a couple things. “You do these, and I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Okay- Wait.” Alder stops spinning and picks up the list, squinting at it. “That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“ _Well then_.”

“Yeah.”

 

Cheren’s in the middle of filling the bookshelf upstairs in the research room when he hears Alder come up behind him.

“Need any help?”

He shrugs. “If you want. I’m almost done though.”

Alder sits down on the floor beside him and picks up a book. “Knowing you, I’m assuming these are going in some sort of order?”

“Of course,” Cheren says, giving him an exasperated look. He can’t believe he has to ask. “Alphabetical. Last name.”

“Ah.” He glances down at the book in his hand and finds the proper spot for it. “You do realize this will last about 30 seconds with a bunch of kids, right?”

“I know,” Cheren admits, grumbling. He’ll just have to redo it. Often.

They finish up in silence. Cheren sticks the last one on the shelf and then leans back to see how it looks. He nods to himself, feeling satisfied.

Alder stands and offers him a hand to pull him up. He takes it, and Alder hauls him to his feet effortlessly. Cheren only notices in times like these, but the difference in their strength is ridiculous.

“Thanks.”

“We’re really done, huh?” Alder asks, glancing around the room.

“At least for now,” Cheren confirms. “We might find something later, but…”

Alder nods, placing his hands on his hips and grinning. “I can’t believe it.”

“Me either, to be honest.”

“Thank you. Seriously.”

Cheren glances away, crossing his arms awkwardly. “It was nothing,” he says, feeling sheepish.

Alder shakes his head. “It was definitely something. I hope you’ll stick with me for a little bit longer.”

“Of course.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to thank everyone for the kind words I've received. I wrote this fic because I love their relationship, and I was dissatisfied with Cheren's canon ending. I know this pairing isn't exactly popular, and frankly I was unsure if I would have a single reader. I'm really happy other people are enjoying it.
> 
> Secondly, I apologize for the delays I've been having in getting chapters out. But! This fic will absolutely be completed and fully posted no matter how long it takes.


	6. Chapter 6

The day of the preview event finally arrives.

Alder doesn’t seem that nervous about it, but Cheren sure is. First impressions are _important_. He doesn’t sleep much the night before, and Alder gives him a knowing look as he walks into the kitchen in the morning.

“Here,” Alder says, immediately shoving a cup of coffee into his hands.

“Thanks,” he mumbles, and sits down at the bar. The milk and sugar are already out, and he adds his usual amount. Once Cheren’s feeling slightly more alive, he gets up and looks in the cupboard. “Did you eat already?” he asks Alder, without turning around.

“Sorta.”

Cheren makes a noncommittal noise and grabs a Poptart. He’s pretty sure he can’t stomach anything else at the moment.

 

Burgh somehow beats them there. He gets up from where he’s sitting on the step outside the door and waves as they approach. “Morning. You ready for this?”

“As ready as we’ll ever be, I guess,” Cheren answers, as Alder unlocks the door.

“Everything will be fine,” Burgh reassures him. “You’ve worked hard for this.”

He hopes so.

They go in, and Cheren sits down at his desk near the front. He’ll be playing receptionist for today and however long it takes for Alder to find someone else for the job. He taps his foot nervously and wishes he had brought more coffee with him. He gets back up and announces that he’s going to the cafe down the street. They have some time before it officially starts, even if people show up early.

“Do you guys want anything?” he asks on his way out.

“Nah.”

He walks the couple blocks slowly, hands shoved in his jacket pockets, trying to calm down. The cafe door jingles as he enters. Luckily they’re not too busy. It’s late enough in the morning that he’s missed the rush.

Cheren orders his coffee and stands off to the side as he waits. One of the guys behind the counter, who’s waited on him a couple times before, gets his attention.

“Do you work at that new school that’s opening up?” he asks, looking interested. “I’ve seen you over there on my way home.”

“Ah… yeah,” Cheren confirms, caught a little off guard by the recognition.

“Cool,” the guy smiles. “My kid is really interesting in going. I might bring him over later.”

“Oh?” Cheren says, surprised. “That’d be great. We’ll be there until about 8 I think.” His coffee appears on the counter with his name on the cup, and he takes it.

“Then I’m sure we’ll be by.”

Cheren nods and heads back to the school, suddenly feeling much more optimistic. If nothing else, at least _one_ person will show up. Maybe.

Alder glances at him when he walks back in and raises his eyebrows. “You look much happier than you were 5 minutes ago.”

He just shrugs and sets his cup down on his desk, looking at his watch. Still a while to go.

 

Several hours later, Cheren is overwhelmed.

They’ve had at least a dozen sign ups already, and several more parents are lined up at his desk. He focuses on taking their information as quickly as possible, though it’s difficult when they keep asking questions.

“So Alder will be teaching _all_ the classes?” the woman he’s currently helping asks.

“Yes,” he confirms for the second time, typing in her child’s name. He hands her a class schedule, and she finally walks away so he can move on to the next person.

The first group is completely full, and the second one is getting there by the time Cheren gets a break. He sighs and rubs his forehead as the last of the line walks away. He’s getting a headache. He feels a hand on his shoulder, and he glances up.

“I can take over for a while,” Burgh says, smiling down at him. “Good job.”

“... Alright,” he agrees. He gives Burgh a brief rundown of what to do and makes his escape.

Cheren considers slipping into Alder’s preview class, but when he peeks in the room, it’s packed. He goes outside instead to get away from people for a few minutes, sitting on a nearby bench and closing his eyes. This is going to be a long day. He just hopes everything they’ve done will be worth it.

Finally he decides he better head back. There’s a line again when he walks back in. Cafe guy is there, and Cheren smiles at him when he catches his eye.

 

Once things finally start dying down, Cheren decides it’s safe to leave his desk. There’s only a couple people still hanging around in the main room, and they appear to be heading out. He gets up and turns around, noticing Burgh standing by the doorway to the classroom, watching something. He goes over to him and looks in. The room’s empty other than Alder talking to some woman.

“Who is that?” he asks Burgh, curious when he realizes she looks somewhat familiar for some reason.

“That’s Alder’s ex-wife.”

“Oh,” Cheren says, suddenly feeling uneasy.

Alder notices them standing there and waves them over. Cheren wonders if it would be rude to refuse, but Burgh pushes him along.

“It’s nice to see you again,” Burgh tells her. His voice sounds a little fake, but maybe Cheren is imagining things.

“Likewise,” she says, before glancing at Cheren questioningly.

Cheren opens his mouth to attempt to introduce himself, but Alder beats him to it. “This is Cheren. He’s been helping me out. Cheren, this is my ex-wife, Mary.”

Recognition flashes across her face. “Ah, I see. Alder’s talked about you before. I didn’t realize you lived in Castelia…”

Cheren shakes her hand and smiles hesitantly. “It’s a fairly recent development.”

She nods. “Well, I need to be going,” she tells Alder, before glancing back to Cheren. “It was nice to meet you. And good to see you, Burgh.”

“You too,” Cheren says, before she walks out of the room, heels clicking on the hard floor. He turns to Alder and raises his eyebrows.

“She’s in town visiting her sister and happened to see one of the fliers,” he explains, shrugging. “Not really sure why she came by though.”

“Huh,” is all Cheren says.

“Well, shall we clean up?” Burgh asks. “It’s getting pretty late.”

“Let’s just leave it for tomorrow.”

Cheren gives Alder an exasperated look but can’t bring himself to disagree. “I guess we might as well,” he admits.

“Fine with me,” Burgh agrees.

When they walk back through the main room, everyone’s finally gone. Cheren cuts off the lights, and they head out. They stand on the sidewalk while Alder searches for the keys to lock up.

“What time should I come by tomorrow?” asks Burgh. “I should be done at the gym after 12 or so.”

“You don’t need to do that,” Alder protests, patting his pocket and finally pulling his ring of keys out. “Today was more than enough.”

“I’ll be here anyway. We can go out to dinner after? You two will be free for the next few days, right?”

“Pretty much,” Cheren says. At this point, all that’s left to do is wait.

“Then it’s decided.”

Alder finishes locking the door and turns around, shaking his head at his persistence. “Fine, we’ll see you tomorrow then. Whenever you can get here is fine. No need to push yourself.”

“Alright.” Burgh agrees.

They get a couple blocks, and then Burgh has to head off the other way. Cheren waves goodbye as he walks off. As he watches him go, it suddenly occurs to him how much he actually _likes_ Burgh. Who would’ve guessed.

He and Alder are halfway home when Alder suddenly slings an arm around his shoulder. Cheren jumps, startled, and looks up.

“Thanks for today,” Alder says, staring down at him. “It went pretty well, right?”

Cheren scoffs. “ _Pretty well_? Yeah, I’d say so. You’re more popular than I thought.”

“Well, I don’t want to sound too full of myself.” He laughs, the sound ringing down the empty sidewalks.

“I never did get to go spy on your class. How was that? You’re almost a real teacher now.”

“Hmm,” Alder thinks aloud. “It was fun?”

“Good.”

Alder doesn’t remove his arm until they get home. Cheren can’t bring himself to push him away.

 

Cheren’s sweeping the classroom when Burgh shows up the next day. He’s not sure how it ended up such a mess after a single day, but he supposes he’ll be doing a lot of this in the future.

“I’m here,” Burgh announces, poking his head through the doorway. “Sorry I’m late. What do you want me to do?”

Cheren glances around. He’s pretty much done here. “I think Alder’s still finishing up upstairs?”

“Alright,” Burgh says, disappearing.

The two come back down after Cheren’s finished cleaning up. He glances up from where he’s emptying the dust pan. “Done already?”

“Yeah, it wasn’t too bad,” Alder says, crossing his arms and leaning against the wall. “You might have to fix your bookshelf though.”

He groans. “Already?”

Burgh gives them a confused look.

“They have to be in alphabetical order,” Alder clarifies.

“Ah,” he says, looking amused. “Good luck with that one.”

“Thanks,” Cheren responds dryly. He puts the broom and pan away in the corner. “I’m done too, I guess. Where’re we going?”

 

Burgh takes them to some restaurant Cheren’s never heard of, but it’s obvious from the outside just what kind of place it is.

“This looks… fancy,” he says, hesitating as Burgh holds the door open for them.

“A little,” he admits. “But we’re celebrating, and I’m paying. Come on.”

Cheren sighs and reluctantly goes in. He hangs back around the door next to Alder while Burgh gets them a table.

“Right this way,” the hostess says after a moment, waiting for them to follow her.

She leads them to their table, and Cheren almost stops dead in his tracks when he realizes who’s sitting right next to them.

“Oh. Hello,” Alder’s ex-wife says, glancing up. _Mary_ , Cheren reminds himself.

The woman across from her turns around and looks past Cheren, eyes lighting up. “ _Alder_.”

He supposes this must be the sister. There’s definitely a resemblance.

The hostess is about to set their menus down when the sister waves her hand to stop her. “Why don’t you just join us?” she suggests cheerfully, gesturing towards their table.

Definitely _not_ , Cheren thinks.

“Sure,” Alder says.

Cheren turns around and gives him an incredulous look, but it’s already too late. The hostess is already placing their menus on the other table.

He makes sure to sit as far away as possible, using Burgh as a buffer between him and the sister. Alder sits down across from them next to Mary. Cheren sighs and stares down at his menu. He suddenly wants to go home.

Alder introduces them to Mary’s sister while they wait to order. Cheren doesn’t catch her name over the noise in the restaurant. He doesn’t particularly care anyway. He only hopes he’ll never need it.

The waitress finally comes by, and Cheren glances up at her to give his order. She moves to the other end of the table, and he takes the opportunity to whisper to Burgh while the others are distracted.

“How did this happen?”

He leans over, looks almost as dismayed as Cheren feels. “I am genuinely sorry,” he apologizes. The sister says something to him, and he turns back around, pasting a smile on his face.

Cheren stays out of the conversation. Their food arrives eventually, and he picks at it. Food at fancy restaurants like this always seems strange to him. He’s only half paying attention when the subject turns to the school.

“It seems like things went well yesterday, from what I saw,” Mary says.

Alder smiles at that. “It was great. Mostly thanks to Cheren and Burgh of course,” he says, nodding at them.

This seems to remind them that Cheren exists, and Mary glances at him from across the table. “So how did you end up involved in this project, Cheren?” she asks. “If I recall, you were a gym leader in Aspertia…”

“Oh. Um,” he stalls, trying to think of a way to explain. “I quit the gym a while ago. I was in the city and just happened to run into Alder one day, and that was it,” he shrugs. “I didn’t have anything else going on at the time, so I figured I’d help out.”

“I see,” she says. “Then you’ve moved here?”

He hesitates. “At least for the time being.”

“He’s staying with me,” Alder clarifies.

She seems taken aback by that and gives Cheren a strange look “ _Is_ he?”

There’s an awkward pause, and Burgh quickly changes the subject. “How long are you in town for, Mary?”

“I’m not too sure yet,” she says. She seems unwilling to elaborate, so her sister does it for her.

“She just split up with her fiancé, so I insisted she come stay with me for a while.” Mary shoots her sister an annoyed look, but she seems undeterred and continues anyway. “He was awful! I knew it wouldn’t work out.”

“Oh stop. He was fine,” Mary argues.

“He was not! If you ask me, you should’ve stayed with Alder.”

Cheren freezes. Wasn’t the purpose of the divorce mainly so she could get remarried? If she _isn’t_ , then… He looks at Alder, but his expression is unreadable. Cheren swallows nervously.

“Knock it off,” Mary says, sounding irritated.

“Fine...”

The atmosphere is strained after that. Cheren stares down at his plate, not eating. Finally Burgh asks Mary what their plans are for the next week and gets the conversation going again.

“We might go see a couple shows in Nimbasa. I don’t come around this way often, so I’d like to make the best of it while I’m here.”

“Oh yes, you definitely should,” Burgh agrees. “That’s my favorite thing about living in this area. Which ones are you thinking of seeing?”

“We’re still trying to decide. There’s a few that seem interesting.”

“You all ought to come with us,” her sister interjects. She smiles at Alder, making her intentions blatantly clear.

“That’s not really my thing…” he laughs, seemingly oblivious.

“I’m sure you’d still enjoy it.”

Cheren suddenly stands up and excuses himself, feeling ill. Burgh gives him a concerned look. “Bathroom,” he mumbles.

He heads to the back of the restaurant trying to find it, finally having to ask a waitress. She points him in the right direction, and he goes in and locks the door behind him, leaning against it.

_Damn_.

What would he even do if Alder got back with his wife? He’d be out of the picture, that’s for sure. He wouldn’t need Cheren to help him anymore, and he definitely couldn’t _live_ with them. He suddenly realizes that he’s taken his current situation very much for granted.

He breathes in, trying to calm down. There’s no reason to assume that would happen. Alder told him they were separated long before they even got divorced.

Cheren composes himself and goes back to the table. The waitress is handing Burgh the check when he slips back into his seat.

“Feeling okay?” Alder asks him.

“I’m fine.”

They manage to leave the restaurant without further incident. Mary and her sister say goodbye as soon as they get outside and head off into the night.

“Well,” Burgh says, once the two are out of earshot. “That was interesting.”

Interesting is one word for it.

 

It’s still fairly early when Cheren and Alder get back home.

“Want to watch a movie or something?” Alder asks once they’re settled in the living room.

“I guess.” Cheren shrugs. He tosses him the remote halfheartedly.

Alder has to lean forward to catch it. He looks at him for a moment but doesn’t say anything, turning to the tv and settling on something random.

Cheren slumps on the couch, picking up one of the spare cushions and hugging it in his lap. He isn’t really paying attention to the movie at all, still feeling unsettled from what happened at the restaurant. Even though he knows very well that he’s probably overreacting, he can’t seem to help it. It’s ridiculous, actually.

About halfway through, he gives up. “I’m going to sleep,” he tells Alder, standing up.

“Okay…” Alder says, sounding unsure. “Goodnight then.”

He goes to his room, shutting the door behind him and throwing himself onto his bed. He doesn’t bother turning the light on.

_Damn it_ , he thinks, for the second time that night, face smashed in the pillow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much to say here this time. Editing of chapter 7 is in progress, and I hope to have it out next week. Happy Valentine's Day!


	7. Chapter 7

Cheren’s grateful for the free time they have before the grand opening, because he knows there won’t be much of it afterwards. That especially goes for Alder. He was concerned about Alder’s workload even before the huge response they got. It’s _really_ going to be a handful now. He’ll just have to help out as much as he can.

Needless to say, he spends the day after the preview event taking advantage of that free time and doing basically nothing.

He wakes up late and even then doesn’t get out of bed, instead grabbing his laptop off the floor and aimlessly browsing the internet for a while. He ends up checking the local news and is surprised to see an article on the school. It’s short and to the point, but overall positive, so Cheren’s pleased. He hadn’t really expected any feedback so soon.

Finally his stomach growls, and he decides he better get moving. He shuts the laptop and wanders out to the kitchen. Alder’s sitting at the bar, and he’s suddenly reminded of the night before. Somehow in his half asleep state he had managed to block it out.

“Morning,” Cheren says, feeling somewhat uncomfortable. He’s pretty sure his weird behavior was obvious, and he doesn’t want to explain it. He’s not sure he even could if he tried.

“Hey,” Alder greets, looking up from the comic section of the newspaper. He seems to decide he’s finished with it, because he closes it and folds it back up. “Do you want to do something this week?”

“Um,” Cheren says into the refrigerator, before turning his head so Alder can actually hear him. He’s a bit surprised by the question. “I don’t know. Why?”

He shrugs. “You haven’t gone out much since you got here. And I definitely owe you one. Aren’t there any museums you want to see or anything?”

Cheren grabs the milk and shuts the door while he thinks. “Hm. Maybe.” It’s true that he hasn’t been anywhere. The few places that he _had_ to see, he visited when he was in Castelia years ago. He’s not really the type for that touristy stuff in general, but it might be fun.

“Well, let me know. We could go tomorrow if you want.”

“Okay,” he agrees. He grabs his bowl of cereal and sits next to Alder at the bar. “I’ll look up some places later.”

“Alright. Anywhere is fine.”

 

Later in the afternoon, Cheren brings his laptop out into the living room. He searches for nearby attractions and scrolls through the list. There are an overwhelming amount. Well, it is Castelia after all.

“What about the natural history museum?” he finally decides, looking up over the screen to get Alder’s opinion.

“Sure. I don’t actually think I’ve been there before.”

“Alright.” Cheren maps it out on Google to figure out where it is. It’s not too far, though he isn’t really familiar with that area.  “Do you want to invite Burgh?”

Alder looks amused at the question. He grins at Cheren from across the coffee table. “I knew you’d end up getting along with him. But it’s up to you,” he says, giving a noncommittal shrug. “I don’t mind if it’s just us.”

“Oh,” is all Cheren can say, feeling caught off guard. He stares down at the screen, unsure of how to respond. There is a small part of him that doesn’t want Burgh to come, despite how much he genuinely likes the man, and he doesn’t want to think about why that is.

In the end, Cheren invites him, but he’s busy. He wishes he were more disappointed.

 

They get to the museum the next day around noon. It’s fairly crowded, but not intolerably so. They have to wait in line to get their tickets, and Alder pays for his without even asking. It’s not that unusual, but for some reason today it makes Cheren feel a bit odd. He mentally scolds himself for being ridiculous. He takes the ticket and shoves it in his pocket, irritated at himself.

They decide to go up to the top floor and work their way down, which means the ancient Pokemon exhibit is first. It’s pretty interesting. Cheren already knows most of what the guide tells them, but he listens anyway, leaning against the metal barrier around the skeletons and looking up in awe. He’s seen all these things in books, but it’s always completely different when they’re right in front of you.

He’s a little reluctant when it’s time to move on. Alder gives him a knowing smile.

The next floor is based on modern Unova Pokemon, which is cool, but after traveling all over the region and seeing most of them in person, not as exciting as it could be. There is a model of a Snivy, Oshawott, and Tepig though, and he smiles at it, feeling nostalgic.

“That seems like a long time ago, huh?” Alder asks, noticing his expression.

“Yeah,” he agrees. Sometimes it feels like a lifetime ago.

They stop to take a break when they get to the museum café. It’s busy, so Cheren grabs a table while Alder waits in line. It’s moving fairly slowly, and after a while, Alder turns and makes a face at him. Cheren just laughs.

Today has been a good day.

Alder finally appears about 15 minutes later with their food, setting the tray down and sighing dramatically. “I thought I might starve to death before they let me out of there.” He pulls his phone out of his back pocket and places it on the table so he can sit down.

Cheren takes his sandwich, grinning. “That’s why I got the table.”

“Terrible,” Alder says, shaking his head. “You should respect your elders more.”

“Uh huh.”

They don’t talk much as they eat, partly because it’s so noisy in the crowded café that it seems pointless. Cheren looks down at his sandwich. It’s rather bland, but he’s not sure what he expected from cheap museum food. He stares at Alder’s burger jealously, even though he knows it’s probably not much better. Oh well.

Despite the noise, he still jumps in surprise when Alder’s phone starts buzzing on the table.

Cheren glances over, wondering if it’s something related to the school. “Who is it?” he asks, freezing when he sees the name. It’s a woman’s, and he has a sinking feeling he knows whose.

Alder doesn’t answer, simply rejecting the call and taking another bite of his burger.

They finish eating and head off to finish touring the rest of the museum, though Cheren’s good mood seems to be ruined. He follows after Alder through the rest of the exhibits, only half paying attention.

Alder asks if he wants to stop in the giftshop on the way out, and he just shrugs.

“I guess,” Cheren says, supposing he could buy something for his mom for when he visits.

After wandering around the store for a while, he ends up just getting her a mug. He’s never been good at these things. At least it’ll be useful. He pays and meets Alder by the entrance. He’s standing there waiting with a bag in his hand, which he hands to Cheren when he approaches.

“What is this?” Cheren asks, accepting it. He glances up at Alder, who simply smiles and shrugs, and looks in the bag. He pulls out a tiny miniature of the Snivy, Oshawott, and Tepig exhibit they saw earlier and stares at it wide eyed. “You got me this?” he finally asks, looking up.

“I thought you’d like it.”

Cheren looks back down at the figure in his hand. “Thank you.”

He does.

 

He sticks the figure on his dresser when they get home, next to the Pokedoll Bianca gave him for Christmas. He’s also added a couple small frames with the pictures Bianca took of the three of them while she was in Castelia. Cheren eyes the photos and wonders how they’re doing. He really should call them soon.

His train of thought is broken by Alder suddenly appearing in the doorway. “What do you want for dinner?” he asks, smiling a little when he notices what Cheren’s looking at.

“Do we actually have anything?”

“Not at all,” Alder confirms. “Pizza?”

“Why not?”

Alder must take that as a yes, because a few minutes later Cheren hears him on the phone ordering. He gets the kind Cheren likes without asking.

 

He comes out of his room when he hears the doorbell ring later. Alder answers the door, and Cheren notices it’s the same delivery guy as always. He can feel him judging them.

“Thanks,” Alder tells the guy, shutting the door.

He sets the box down on the coffee table while Cheren goes to get some plates from the kitchen. He hands one to Alder and sits down, grabbing the remote to turn the tv on and picking up a slice of pizza with his other hand. He flips channels for a minute, but there’s nothing decent on, and he finally just leaves it on something random. Cheren’s trying to decide if he wants to bother getting up and finding a DVD when Alder’s phone rings for the second time that day.

He looks up from his pizza as Alder grabs it to see who it is. He glances at Cheren for a millisecond, which is all he needs to figure it out. He picks up the remote and turns the tv all the way down. “Are you going to answer?” Cheren asks.

Alder hesitates for a moment. “I suppose I might as well.” He picks up.

Cheren can just barely make out the conversation, but he can hear enough to know that he was right - it’s Mary’s sister.

“We have dinner reservations for 8 o’clock if you’d like to come,” he’s pretty sure she says.

He puts his pizza down, staring at Alder nervously to see what his response will be.

“That sounds nice....” he trails off.

Cheren’s stomach sinks.

“But I can’t tonight,” he continues. “We’ve already got plans.”

Oh.

He glances up and smiles at Cheren, before making an irritated expression at something she says. He puts his feet up on the coffee table and crosses his legs, leaning his free elbow on the arm rest. “Sorry. I really can’t.”

Cheren hears her start to argue.

“Again, maybe some other time, but I’m already doing something with Cheren tonight,” he says again. “Thanks for inviting me though.”

“What are you doing that’s so important?” she asks, seeming unwilling to take no for an answer.

“Well…” Alder pauses and looks at the tv. “Right now we’re watching Jeopardy. And there’s pizza involved.”

“Are you serious?”

“Completely.”

She’s talking too quickly for Cheren to understand at this point, but it doesn’t matter anyway, because Alder suddenly says “Some other time. Bye,” and hangs up. He tosses the phone on the table and rolls his eyes.

Cheren raises his eyebrows.

“She’s always been persistent, that one. The complete opposite of Mary.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to go?” Cheren asks, regretting it as soon as it’s out of his mouth. He doesn’t want to know if he does.

“Of course. I’m sure it’s just a set up anyway. She’s not subtle.”

Cheren nods, picking up his plate again. “She wants you to get back together,” he says carefully.

“Seems that way.”

“... And what do you want?” he asks, staring down at his pizza.

Alder just shrugs. “It didn’t work the first time, don’t know why it would the second. We’ve both moved on.”

“Ah,” is all Cheren can think of to say. He’s relieved but tries not to show it. He takes a bite of his pizza instead.

“Is this really all that’s on?” Alder asks after a few minutes, staring in disbelief at the tv.

“Pretty much,” Cheren confirms. He throws Alder the remote so he can see for himself.

He flips through the channels quickly, before giving up and going back to Jeopardy. “You’re right,” he says, sounding resigned.

“Do you want to play a game or something?” Cheren asks. He hasn’t set up any of his game consoles yet since moving in, but it wouldn’t take very long.

“Could be fun,” Alder agrees.

He finishes his piece of pizza before going to his room and digging out his Playstation. He can only find a couple of his old games. The rest must be back at his parent’s house.

He carries the stuff back into the living room and puts it down on the floor in front of the tv. “Which one?” he asks, holding up the games so Alder can see them.

“Uh… that one,” he points.

Cheren glances at it and groans. He’s terrible at fighting games. Black always used to kick his ass. Well, at least he’s bound to be better than Alder.

Alder joins him on the floor, sitting cross-legged and leaning against the coffee table, while Cheren hooks everything up. “I’ll warn you in advance. I’m terrible at these things,” he says, as Cheren leans forward to turn the console on. “They didn’t have any Playstation’s when I was a kid.”

“That doesn’t exactly surprise me,” Cheren admits, amused. He sits back down and looks up at the tv to get it set up. “Didn’t Benga ever make you play any?”

“Hm. Not really. It was all Pokemon with him from the moment he could walk.”

Cheren nods. That sounds like him.

“And my daughter was… well, she didn’t care about games _or_ Pokemon,” he continues.

“Really?” Cheren asks, looking at him in surprise. “But… you were the _Champion_.”

He laughs. “Not to her. She definitely took after her mother. I was so pleased when Benga started showing an interest.”

“Wow.”

“Well, it keeps you grounded at least. No matter how crazy the attention got, at least there were two people who weren’t impressed with me.”

“Huh.” Cheren tries to imagine growing up with such an important father and _not caring_. He can’t. At one point, Alder was everything he wanted to be. Things have changed now of course, but sometimes he’s still so larger than life that Cheren can scarcely believe that he actually knows him. Not only knows him, _lives_ with him. His child self wouldn’t believe it.

“So what do I do?” Alder asks, as the start screen pops up.

Cheren presses the button to get to the character select screen. “Pick one of these guys and press A,” he tells him.

“Umm…” he thinks out loud as he chooses. “Okay. This one. Now what?”

Cheren picks his own character and then leans over to Alder. “Press these to move,” he says, pointing at the arrows on his controller. “And these to… do things,” he explains, vaguely.

“ _Do things_.” Alder snorts. “Okay. I guess I got it.”

He doesn’t.

The round starts, and Alder presses the buttons randomly, not hitting Cheren’s character a single time. Cheren laughs, wondering if he should let him win. Nah.

“Are you really trying?” Cheren asks, as the first round ends, and his name flashes as the winner.

“Of course!”

He shakes his head, scooting over closer to Alder to tell him what to do again. “Concentrate on these two buttons,” he says, hand reaching over Alder’s lap to demonstrate. “That’s how you attack. You can even do both at once if you want.” Alder’s own hand is in the way, and their fingers accidentally touch. Cheren suddenly realizes how close he’s gotten to him and quickly moves back to his spot, blushing slightly.

“Alright, let’s go again,” Alder says, seeming to be completely oblivious. He looks confident this time as he practices pressing the buttons.

Another round starts and Alder _almost_ seems to have it… until somehow his character gets turned around and he can’t get him facing the right way again. He starts fighting the edge of the screen instead of Cheren.

“No!” he yells at the tv. “Why?”

Cheren laughs, leaning forward and clutching his controller. Alder continues shouting which just makes him laugh more, tears coming to his eyes.

When he’s done, he looks at Alder, who’s still glaring at the screen and frantically mashing buttons. He grins at him, feeling an overwhelming fondness for the man, and it suddenly occurs to him that he has got it _bad_. Damn. The smile slips off his face, controller in his hands forgotten.

His first thought is that Black can definitely never find out about this - he’d never hear the end of it. His second is to tell himself what an idiot he is. Of all people, he goes for the most unobtainable person he knows. How incredibly stupid.

“Cheren?” Alder asks, finally noticing him staring at him.

“Oh. Nothing,” he says, turning back to the screen, frowning. Alder’s actually managed to beat him this time while he was spacing out. That’s embarrassing.

He can never know, Cheren decides. It’s not like anything good would ever come of it anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted to get this out for Pokemon Day, but clearly that didn't happen. Sorry for the delay!


	8. Chapter 8

With only one day to go before classes start, Cheren’s so on edge that he can’t sit still. It’s stupid, he knows. He’s not even going to be the one _doing_ anything, but he can’t help it. They’ve worked so hard for this. He _really_ wants it to go well, both for Alder and himself.

Alder has him nervous too. Now that he’s sort of, kind of, acknowledged his feelings for him, he can’t stop thinking about it. That’s _really_ stupid, considering there’s nothing to think about. Alder would never be interested in him, and it would never work if he were. Cheren isn't that naive. He has to forget about it.

And so he's pacing around the living room for the hundredth time that morning when Alder finally sets his newspaper down, fed up. “Would you stop that already?” he demands.

“Sorry.” Cheren sighs and falls back on the couch, closing his eyes. He starts unconsciously tapping his foot a few minutes later, and Alder glares at him from across the coffee table.

“What is wrong with you?”

“Nothing,” Cheren insists, trying to force himself to sit still.

He can’t.

Cheren stands back up, intending to go back to his room, but Alder puts a hand up to stop him.

“Don’t go anywhere,” Alder tells him, getting up from his chair with a grumble.

“What?”

Alder grabs his coat from the back of the chair and puts it on, tossing Cheren his own. “We’re going out.”

“Um,” Cheren says, confused. He pulls his jacket on and suddenly realizes he’s not wearing any shoes. He sits back down to put them on. “Where are we going?” he asks, as he ties his sneakers.

“Out,” is all Alder says. “Bring your Pokemon,” he adds.

Cheren raises his eyebrows but grabs his Pokeballs before they leave.

 

Alder ends up taking him to the park.

“Um,” Cheren says again, confused. It's not that rare for them to come here, but he's not sure what Alder is planning.

“We’re going to battle,” Alder finally explains, pulling out one of his Pokeballs and releasing his Volcarona.

“ _Really_?” Cheren’s face immediately lights up. He hasn’t had a Pokemon battle with Alder in at least a couple years.

“You’ve gotta get that energy out somehow.” Alder shrugs. “Might as well do it this way.”

Cheren nods, then looks at the Volcarona and thinks, finally choosing his Gigalith. He’s glad he brought his entire team. He'll need it if he even wants to stand a chance.

“Good choice,” Alder approves. “You go first.”

They back up to a reasonable distance from one another. The cool winter air has apparently chased everyone inside, so there's plenty of room.

Cheren pushes his glasses up, feeling excited. “Ready?” he asks.

Alder nods and seconds later Cheren’s Gigalith attacks. Volcarona dodges, quickly countering. Cheren pauses for a split second - it's too long. Volcarona’s attack hits, and Cheren winces. That was completely his fault.

“You’ve gotten rusty,” Alder teases from across the field.

Cheren makes a face at him, but he’s right. He brushes it off. Years ago, a mistake like that would’ve crushed him. Luckily he’s not that kid anymore.

He orders his Gigalith to use Stone Edge, and it lands this time. _Yes_ , Cheren thinks. His heart races as he waits for Alder’s move.

 

Cheren doesn’t win, of _course_ he doesn’t, but it was fun. He's missed this.

He drops down on the ground, suddenly exhausted, and calls back his Pokemon. He hasn’t actually battled seriously in a long time. Too long. He couldn’t exactly go all out at the gym.

“Better now?” Alder asks, standing next to him and looking down.

“Yeah,” he smiles. “Thanks. That was nice.”

“Good.” He holds a hand out to help Cheren up.

Alder’s hand is warm in his, and he waits longer than he probably should to let go. “Home?” he finally asks, dropping it and moving away.

 

Opening day comes sooner than Cheren would like, but he reminds himself that they’re _ready_ for this.

He fusses over Alder as they leave the apartment. “You have everything, right?”

“ _Yes_.” he laughs. “For the third time.”

Cheren wonders if he’s nervous. He doesn’t look it, but sometimes it’s hard to tell with Alder. If not, Cheren’s terrified enough for the both of them.

They get to the school early, but unlike on preview day, it’s just the two of them. Burgh has gym duties all morning. Cheren’s disappointed, he has to admit. He would’ve liked to have him there as support, but they’ll have to manage on their own for today.

Cheren does a walk around the building, flipping the lights on and double checking that everything is how it should be. Once he's satisfied, he heads back to the entrance. Alder’s sitting in Cheren’s desk chair at the reception desk, arms crossed.

He looks up as Cheren walks over and leans against the desk, back to the door. “You ready?” Cheren asks him.

“... I thought I was,” he says after a slight pause. “Maybe not.”

“Are you _nervous_?” Cheren asks, surprised.

“Maybe a little,” he admits sheepishly.

“ _Wow_.”

“Why do you sound so shocked? … And happy, for that matter.”

“I didn’t know you had it in you,” Cheren shrugs, smiling. “Now I know you’re at least slightly human.”

“Thanks?”

Cheren glances at his watch to see it’s almost time. He looks at Alder. “You can definitely do this,” he reassures. “It’s what you’ve been doing this entire time.”

“That’s true,” he agrees.

“Besides, none of these kids can possibly be as bad as I was,” Cheren jokes.

Alder laughs at that. “Also true. Man, you were a brat. And you _were barely even a kid_. You had no excuse.”

Cheren pouts a little, but can’t deny it. He isn’t sure why Alder put up with him. “Remember when we first met outside Nimbasa?” he asks.

“How could I possibly forget? You immediately started insulting me! I couldn’t believe it.”

“Well, you called me judgemental,” Cheren points out.

“Yeah, after you _insulted me_.”

They both laugh. “Sorry,” Cheren apologizes. He wonders if it’s too late to apologize for something he did 4 years ago. “You just weren’t what I was expecting I guess.”

Alder just shakes his head, amused. “It’s alright. I didn’t really mind, to tell you the truth. You were kinda cute, in some way. Kept me on my toes.”

“ _Cute_? _How_?”

He shrugs, then studies Cheren with a serious look. “You’ve really grown up,” he says, patting Cheren’s leg.

Cheren stares down at him, taken aback. He opens his mouth to say something, but the door opens and startles both of them. Cheren almost falls over in his attempt to jump away from Alder and turn around.

A kid lingers in the doorway, looking apprehensive.

“ _Hi_ ,” Cheren greets, a little too enthusiastically and probably sounding unnatural. He hears Alder stand up and glances over to him.

He’s already moving, immediately walking over to greet the kid. He doesn’t look back at Cheren. “Hey! What’s your name?” he asks, immediately engaging him.

The kid relaxes immediately, and Cheren takes a moment to envy Alder’s ability to deal with people. It was something he seriously struggled with when he was teaching and still does to this day.

Alder starts guiding the kid into the classroom, then glances over his shoulder at Cheren. “Do you have the class roster for today?”

“Of course,” Cheren says, moving back to his desk to dig through his binder. He hands it to Alder, who thanks him and disappears into the classroom. He hears him still talking to the kid as others arrive.

Cheren continues to point students to the classroom until it’s time for class to start. As the last one arrives, he closes the classroom door and sits down at his desk. He slumps in his chair in relief. So far, so good.

He turns on his computer, wondering how he’s going to kill the next few hours.

 

Class lets out for lunch at noon. Most of the kids seem to have brought their lunch, just eating in the classroom at their desks.

Alder slips out after a while, appearing next to Cheren.

“How’s it going?” Cheren asks, glancing up from the computer.

“Good, I think.”

Cheren nods. “Good. Do you want me to go get you anything?”

“Hm,” Alder thinks. “... If you don’t mind? I didn’t even think about bringing lunch.”

Cheren almost rolls his eyes at that. “That’s what I’m _here for_ ,” he reminds him. “Of course I don’t mind.” He grabs his wallet and stands up. “What do you want?”

“Doesn't matter. Anything.” Alder shrugs.

Cheren _does_ roll his eyes this time. “Helpful. Alright, I’ll be right back.” He heads down the street to a sandwich shop they go to occasionally.

 

When he gets back with Alder’s food, he’s already gone back in the classroom. Cheren stands in the doorway,  just watching as a couple students have Alder cornered at his desk, asking him questions. He hides his smile, walking in and handing Alder his lunch.

“Popular already,” Cheren says teasingly.

Alder just smiles helplessly.

 

Class lets out at 3.

Alder and Cheren stand out front, saying bye to the kids and talking to the few parents who’re still hanging around. He notices the guy from the cafe standing off to the side, waiting for his son and gives him a brief wave.

When everyone’s gone, they go back inside to straighten up.

“So?” Cheren asks expectantly, as he cleans off one of the desks.

“It went better than I could’ve hoped,” Alder admits, looking happy. “They’re good kids. It’s easy to teach them when they _want_ to learn.”

“That’s for sure,” Cheren agrees. That’s something he figured out in Aspertia. There were always those few who clearly didn't want to be there.

“I just hope tomorrow's group will be as well behaved. I’m a little worried that I got too lucky today.”

Cheren hums in agreement as he pushes a last stray chair back into place. He puts his hands on his hips and surveys the classroom. It looks good as new. He faintly hears the door open and close out front, and Burgh comes sauntering in a moment later.

“Hey.” Cheren blinks, surprised to see him.

“I couldn’t not come by to see how things went,” he explains with a smile. “Looks like you survived.”

“It seems that way.”

Burgh glances between the two of them with an odd look on his face, before he suddenly grabs Cheren and Alder by the arm and forces them into a hug. “I’m so proud of you two,” he says, not letting go.

“Thanks,” is all Cheren can get out, squished between the two of them. His shoulder is pressing into Alder’s chest. He tries to ignore it, but his face is slightly red when Burgh finally releases them. He straightens his tie, looking away.

“Well,” Burgh says, walking over to Alder’s desk and sitting on it. “Tell me all about it.”

 

They’re both considerably less nervous on the second day, now that they have one success under their belt.

As they stand out front waiting for everyone to show up, Cheren looks over to Alder. “Make sure you tell me if you need anything.”

He nods. “I will. Thanks.”

“I’ll get your lunch early today so it’s ready for you-” Cheren starts to say, but he’s interrupted by someone yelling his name. He glances over in surprise and sees a kid he recognizes. He was one of his students as Aspertia.

“Cheren!” the kid says again, running over.

“Hi!” he responds, caught off guard. “What are you doing here?” he asks. The kid’s mom walks up behind him, and Cheren smiles at her. He’s talked to her a few times before, back at school. “It’s good to see you again,” he says.

“I’m surprised to see you here,” she tells him. “Glad though, my son always liked you.”

He smiles, a little embarrassed. “I’m surprised, too. Did you move?” The kid tugs on his sleeve and he bends down to talk to him. He was one of the younger students at the school and extremely shy. Cheren liked him too.

“Yes… his father and I got a divorce,” she explains. “He’s been having a rough time adjusting. I’m happy to see a familiar face.”

Cheren nods understandingly. “I know how you feel,” he says, turning back to the boy. “But I bet you’ll like it here once you get used to everything.” He smiles and ruffles the kid’s hair, before straightening back up. “This is going to be your teacher,” he says, gesturing towards Alder.

“Hey,” Alder smiles. He holds out his hand for the kid to shake.

“You’re not teaching here?” his mom asks, sounding surprised.

“Ah… not right now.”

She looks like she has something else to say, but a crowd’s started to gather around the door. She excuses herself instead, waving goodbye to her son as Alder and Cheren lead everyone inside.

Alder shoots Cheren an amused look. “Looks like you’re pretty popular too.”

 

Cheren goes to get their lunch a few minutes before noon. When he gets back, Alder’s just let the kids out. He walks into the classroom and drops the bag on Alder’s desk.

“Good timing,” he says. “Thanks.”

Cheren starts to head back out with his own food, but the kid from Aspertia grabs ahold of him again.

“Will you eat here?” he asks.

He glances over at Alder, who’s grinning at him, then down at the kid. “Sure,” he agrees. He drags a couple extra chairs over to Alder’s desk, then sits down in the one closest to Alder. The kid hops up next to him.

They eat in silence for a few minutes, before Alder speaks up. “So, you were one of Cheren’s students, huh?”

“Yeah! He left though,” the kid says, turning to Cheren and frowning.

Cheren puts his sandwich down. “I’m sorry,” he says sincerely. “I’m not going anywhere this time.” He feels Alder looking at him and belatedly realizes the weight of what he just said.

They haven't talked about it yet, but it's the truth. He hasn’t exactly had time to think about what he wants to do next. And he likes it here. He knows he can't stay forever, but for now Castelia has become something like home.

They finish eating and Cheren drags the chairs back, waving bye to the kid and shutting the door behind him. He spends the rest of the afternoon working at his desk.

 

When they get home that night, Alder immediately collapses in his chair, closing his eyes. “It’s only Tuesday,” he says. “There are three more days of this.”

Cheren laughs, going into the kitchen to see if there’s anything he can make for dinner. “But it’s fun, right?” He opens the pantry door and stares inside. There isn’t much to look at.

“Definitely,” he agrees. “But I might be too old for this.”

“Please, you’re not _that_ old.”

“I am,” Alder groans.

Cheren just sighs, both at Alder and at the state of the cupboard. “Do you want rice? That’s about all we have.” They really need to go to the store soon.

“Sure.”

He gets a pan out to start boiling the water, leaning against the counter as he waits.

“Did you mean what you said earlier?” Alder asks after a few minutes, sounding curious.

“What?” Cheren wonders aloud, trying to think what he could be talking about. “Oh. Well, pretty much.”

“Really?” Alder turns around in his chair to look at him. He seems surprised. Cheren hopes he didn’t expect him to run off at the first opportunity, but he supposes he can’t blame him if he did.

It's not like he hasn't done it before.

Cheren shrugs. “You’d be lost without me now. I can’t go anywhere,” he explains.

“You’re right about that,” he agrees. “Thank you. I’m glad.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. Was finally able to get this knocked out thanks to Hurricane Matthew trapping me in the house for 2 days.


	9. Chapter 9

The first week of classes ends uneventfully.

Cheren wakes up before Alder for once on Saturday morning and starts attempting to make breakfast. It’s not something he usually does, and he has to study the back of the pancake box to remember how to make them. He uses the last egg in the refrigerator and sighs to himself. They have to go to the store today no matter what - no more excuses.

Alder wanders out of his room not long later. “What are you doing?” he asks with a yawn.

“Making-” Cheren starts, before turning around. Alder hasn’t bothered getting dressed yet, and he isn’t even wearing a shirt. He stares at him for a moment before remembering the pancakes. “Shit. _Burning_ pancakes,” he corrects himself, rushing to save them.

When he turns back around, Alder has made his way over to the bar and is slouched over a stool rubbing his head tiredly.

“Why are you _naked_?” Cheren demands. He hopes his red face can be blamed on standing over the frying pan.

Alder gives him an odd look. “I’m not exactly _naked_ …”

“Close enough,” he insists, shooing him away from the kitchen. “Go get dressed while I finish.”

“Fine,” Alder grumbles, heading back to his room. “Censored in my own home…”

Cheren definitely does not watch his back as he goes, turning back to the frying pan and flipping the pancakes over with the spatula. This man is trying to kill him.

He comes back out a couple minutes later, thankfully wearing clothes this time. Cheren’s just finishing up and slides his plate in front of him once he sits down.

“I genuinely have no idea what I did all these years without you,” Alder says.

The comment gives him an odd feeling in his chest. “You’re lucky you’re still alive,” Cheren responds mildly, turning around to grab silverware out of the drawer. He hands Alder a fork and sits down for breakfast

 

“So we seriously have to go grocery shopping,” Cheren announces later on in the morning, hands on his hips in determination.

Alder groans dramatically, looking up from his book. His reading glasses slide down his nose. Cheren pretends he doesn’t notice how cute it is. “Do we really?”

“We _really_ do.”

“You know, there’s a thing now where they’ll deliver your groceries-” Alder starts, sounding hopeful.

“No,” Cheren insists, albeit reluctantly. As nice as that sounds at the moment, he’s determined that they’re going to at least _try_ to be responsible adults.

“Damn. Fine, let me get my coat.”

 

The market they normally go to isn’t that far from the apartment, which is good because carrying bags of groceries for blocks is incredibly annoying. In some ways, he’s still not quite used to this city life.

Cheren makes Alder push the shopping cart. He regrets this immediately, because the man pays _no_ attention to where he’s going. Somehow he isn’t surprised. He just hopes Alder never decides to buy a car. At least in a grocery store, the damage is relatively minimal.

“You almost hit that lady,” he points out, as the woman dodges to the other side of the aisle and shoots them a dirty look.

“What? No, I didn’t,” Alder argues, looking halfway offended. Moments later, he runs into a display of cereal, knocking half of the boxes on the ground.

Cheren groans and covers his face.

He’s just finished picking up the boxes and putting them back where they belong, when he hears his phone start ringing. He reaches into his bag, digging around, and finally pulls it out. It’s Black. He debates whether he should call him back later and decides otherwise. It’s not like he calls all that often.

“Hey,” Cheren answers. Alder glances back at him, and he mouths, “ _Black_.” He nods and keeps going, probably trying to give him some privacy.

“Hey! What’s up?”

“Not much. We’re just grocery shopping.”

“Cute. When’s the wedding?”

“ _Black_ ,” Cheren hisses into the phone.

“Sorry,” he laughs, not sounding remotely apologetic. “So how did your thing go?”

He relaxes. “Good, so far. The kids are all great. Hopefully it stays that way.”

“Feeling the urge to go back to teaching yet?”

Cheren thinks about it for a second. “Not yet,” he decides. “I’ll help out if I need to, but…”

Black makes a thoughtful sound. “Anyway,” he says after a moment, “I might be in the city next week. Well, N and I,” he corrects, sounding hesitant.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, so do you want to do something? It’ll probably be on Friday.”

“Of course,” Cheren says. “Just text me when and where? Class gets out at 3, so any time after that is fine.”

“Great.” Black sounds relieved.

Cheren frowns to himself, suddenly feeling guilty. Did Black actually think he’d say no just because of N tagging along? He’ll have to make an effort to be nicer to him this time. The guy clearly isn’t going anywhere, so he might as well learn to deal with it.

They hang up after a few minutes, and Cheren runs to catch up to Alder.

“What’d he want?” Alder asks, looking curious. He stops the cart and grabs a box of hot chocolate off the shelf.

“He and N might be around Friday. Wanted to know if I wanted to do something with them,” Cheren explains. He pats his pockets trying to figure out where he stuck the grocery list while he was on the phone. He finally pulls it out from his jacket and unwrinkles it.

“Ah… N. How is that, anyway?”

“Odd,” Cheren admits. “But he’s important to Black, so... I don’t know.” He shrugs helplessly.

Alder shoots him an understanding look. “Well, he seems like a nice enough kid I guess.”

“Yeah. I’ll just have to get used to it.”

He nods. “Not much else you can do.”

 

Monday comes too soon.

Once the kids are settled into class, Cheren leans back in his chair with a sigh. Getting back on a proper schedule is rough. He’s sure it’s much worse for Alder. He’s been doing whatever the hell he wanted for… Cheren doesn’t even know how long. _Years_. Maybe a lifetime, from the sounds of it.

Cheren has always lived by routine.

He straightens and grabs the stack of homework the kids handed in. The assignment was just a simple written introduction, nothing that needs any serious grading, but he still wants to give them some feedback.

Cheren starts reading the first one and laughs. The kid has started and ended his paragraph with a declaration of being the next Pokemon champion. Cheren scribbles a “Good luck!” on the paper and gives him an A. The next couple pages are basically the same. He just shakes his head, amused. They’ve got some ambitious kids here. He can’t say much though; he was just the same at their age. It’s pretty embarrassing, looking back at himself now.

After a few more, he gets up to stretch and idly wonders how class is going. He walks over to the classroom door and peaks through the tiny window. Alder is over-enthusiastically waving his arms around to explain something, looking as happy as Cheren's ever seen him. He can't quite hear what he's saying through the door, but he looks completely and utterly ridiculous.

Cheren falls a little bit more in love with him.

He swallows dryly and stands there watching for a few more minutes before going back to his desk. He taps his pen, staring at the next paper without really reading it.

This is... becoming a problem. He wonders how the hell he’s supposed to get over someone who’s around _all the time_.

Cheren shakes his head and forces himself to concentrate. He needs to get through these so he can hand them back before the kids leave. He’s halfway through the stack when he glances up at the clock and realizes it’s almost lunch time. Oops.

He grabs his jacket and goes to buy their lunch. He’s running a few minutes later than usual, so by the time he gets back, class has already been dismissed. Alder’s leaning against the classroom door frame waiting for him.

“Thanks,” he says with a grin, as Cheren hands him his food. He’s in a good mood, Cheren notices. “Want to eat in here?” he asks, tilting his head towards the classroom.

Cheren bites his lip, thinking, and decides against it. “Nah. I still need to finish grading.” It’s a poor excuse, but he can’t think of anything else. He needs to back away a little bit, or his dumb crush is going to get out of hand very quickly.

Alder doesn’t seem to think much of it. “Alright,” he says.

Cheren eats alone at his desk.

 

By Friday afternoon, Cheren still hasn’t heard anything more from Black. Where were they even supposed to meet? He texts him a couple times but gets no response.

He frowns, wondering if he didn’t end up coming into town after all. He was looking forward to seeing him, so he can’t pretend he’s not a little disappointed. He shrugs it off, putting his phone away to get ready for class to let out.

Cheren hears the door open behind him and stands up, quickly throwing his jacket on as kids stream out of the classroom. He and Alder start to head outside to see them off, and Cheren startles as he opens the door.

“Surprise!” Black yells, jumping out in front of him. N is a few feet behind him, looking mostly disinterested.

“Oh my God,” Cheren says, clutching his chest. “You scared me.” He realizes they’re holding up the line and pushes Black over to the side so the kids can get out. He waves goodbye to them before turning back to Black and elbowing him. “What was that for?”

He shrugs. “My phone died. I figured we better just meet you here.”

Cheren shakes his head at him before leaning around Black to greet N. “Hi,” he says, trying his best to smile.

“Hello,” N says quietly and nods.

Cheren tries not to sigh. This is going to be difficult. He turns his attention back to Black. “So where do you want to go?”

“I dunno,” Black says. “Want to just go see a movie or something? Is there anything good playing?”

“I doubt it.” Nonetheless, he pulls out his phone to check the show times.

“Hey, Black. N,” Alder greets, making his way over. “How are you two doing?”

“We’re good. How’s the teaching life?”

“So far, so good,” he says with a smile.

Cheren glances up from his phone. “We’re going to go see a movie, do you want to come?” He hands his phone over to Black. “These all look terrible, but pick one.”

“I don’t think so.” Alder shakes his head. “I’ll probably just head home. You guys have fun though.”

“Wow, they really do,” Black agrees, scrolling through the list of movies playing. “How about this one?”

Cheren leans over to see which movie he’s pointing to and groans. “I knew you’d pick that one.” Black’s always loved crappy action films. He can’t even count how many he’s been forced to watch over the years.

Black just laughs, then glances at N. “Is that good with you? It doesn’t start for another hour though.”

N nods. “That’s fine.”

“So you really don’t wanna come, huh?” Black asks, turning his attention back to Alder.

“I’ll pass. You don’t want to hang out with an old man like me.”

“Cheren sure doesn’t seem to mind it,” he comments. “Ow!” he yelps a moment later, as Cheren discreetly kicks him.

Alder just looks amused.

 

He insists that Cheren go on ahead while he closes up. Cheren wants to argue, but it’s true that Black and N probably don’t want to hang around the school doing nothing. He decides he’ll make it up to him somehow later.

They wander off in the direction of the movie theater. It isn’t far, so they don’t have to rush. Black gets distracted by shops along the way and pulls Cheren and N inside with him.

“This is so cool!” he exclaims, picking up some new Pokemon gadget.

“Do you really need that?” Cheren asks, raising his eyebrows. He eyes it over Black’s shoulder. He has to admit that it _is_ pretty cool, but he has no use for things like that now. Hell, he barely even touches his Pokedex.

“... Probably not,” Black admits, putting it back down. He and N continue further into the store as a training book catches Cheren’s eye.

He pauses to take a look. “Hold on-” he starts to say, looking up from the display. Now that there’s some distance between them, he suddenly notices they’re holding hands. _Oh_. Black sure didn’t tell him about _that_. He watches as Black tightens his grip, tugging N with him, as he excitedly makes his way over to something else.

Cheren blinks, caught off guard. He realizes he’s not actually all that surprised. Black’s always had an unusual interest in N. Mostly he wonders why he never mentioned it. He shakes it off, hurrying to catch up to them. He’ll ask him about it later.

 

The movie ends up being about as terrible as Cheren had expected.

“That was awesome!” Black says, as they leave the theater. They stop by a trash can to throw their leftover popcorn away.

“I don’t know if awesome is the word…”

“It was pretty bad,” N agrees quietly.

“See?” Cheren throws N a small smile. At least they can agree on something?

Black huffs. “You both have no taste.” He turns to Cheren. “What time is it, by the way?”

Cheren glances down at his watch. “Almost 8?” Not only was the movie terrible, but it was also way too long. It’s already long past dark.

“Want to go eat before we leave?” Black asks N. Cheren can’t see him, but he must nod. “Cheren?”

“Sure.” He shrugs.

They stop at the first place they come across, which ends up being a small diner. They get lucky and don’t have to wait long for a table. The waitress seats them, and Black slides into the other side of the booth next to N.

Cheren flips through the menu quickly, deciding on a salad. He’s not really that hungry. He glances up across the table, and Black is leaning well into N’s space sharing his menu. He doesn’t seem to mind.

He realizes he’s kind of jealous. His stomach twists uncomfortably.

“So, anything new and exciting happen this week?” Black asks, after they’ve ordered.

Cheren thinks, fiddling with his straw. “... Not exactly. I graded some papers.”

“Wow, yeah, exciting,” Black laughs. “But you like it, right?”

“Yeah, I do.” He nods. “It’s fun - the atmosphere without the responsibility. I can’t exactly stay there forever, though.”

Black takes a sip of his soda. “You probably could if you wanted to,” he points out.

Cheren leans back in his seat and sighs. “ _Technically_ , yes. I don’t think he’s going to kick me out. But I can’t just depend on Alder for the rest of my life. I’ll have to get an actual paying job at some point.”

“He’s not paying you, huh?”

“No, I told him I wouldn’t accept it,” Cheren explains. “He won’t let me pay rent, so it’s only fair. It’s not like I’m doing that much anyway.”

“Hm,” Black muses, propping his chin in his hand, elbow on the table. “It is kind of a weird situation.” He tilts his head towards N. “Got any useful advice?”

N blinks. “If that’s what you wish to do, you should,” he says. “I’m sure there’s a way.”

“... And there you go,” Black says, turning back to Cheren.

Cheren sighs again. “I suppose.” He wishes it were that easy. He drums his fingers on table.

“Is everything going okay living with him, though? Man, it’s still surreal to me. We grew up hearing about the guy, and now here you are.”

“Sometimes I can’t believe it either,” Cheren admits. “But yeah, it’s fine. We get along pretty well. As far as roommates go, I probably couldn’t ask for much more.”

“Oh?” Black grins.

Cheren just glares at him. N glances between the two of them, looking lost.

He doesn’t exactly feel like explaining, so he changes the subject instead. “So what have you two been up to?” From what he understands, N has been living with Black, but he doesn’t know much more beyond that.

Black shrugs. “Not much, honestly. I’ve done a couple of events here and there. Today I shot an ad for the Battle Company. That’s why we came into town, actually.” He looks over at N. “N’s kinda just been hanging out. He helps me out a lot.”

“I’m still figuring out where to go from here,” N says.

Cheren nods. He can certainly understand that. “There’s no rush,” he tells N. He’s only started to figure that out for himself recently. N’s been through a lot… he can’t even imagine.

Their food comes a few minutes later.

“Have you noticed Bianca is the only one of us with a legitimate career?” Black asks, before taking a bite of his burger.

Cheren laughs, stabbing at his salad. “ _Yes_. I’m happy for her though. I used to worry about what she was going to do.”

“Me too. She sure showed us…”

“She really did.” Cheren feels a swell of pride thinking about her.

Cheren tries to engage N a couple times while they’re eating, but he can’t get much out of him. He does half smile once though, so overall, he counts it as a success.

When they’re almost done eating, Black flags down the waitress for the bill. “We better get going soon,” he says.

“Yeah, it’s getting pretty late,” Cheren agrees. He wishes they could stay longer. “Are you sure you don’t just want to spend the night? I doubt Alder would mind.”

“We’d better not,” Black says, shaking his head. “Thanks, though. Next time we may take you up on that.”

They pay and head outside. Cheren zips up his jacket as far as it’ll go, as they stand on the sidewalk. It’s freezing out. It almost feels like snow.

“Well, I have no idea when we’ll be back, but hopefully soon,” Black says with a smile.

Cheren nods and turns to N. “It was good to see you. You two are welcome to stay with Alder and I whenever you want.”

“Thank you.”

He watches them head off down the sidewalk. Black takes N’s hand again before they turn a corner, and Cheren feels another pang of jealousy. He scolds himself for it. He should be _happy_ for them. Black’s his best friend, and regardless of his own feelings towards N, he obviously likes him for whatever reason.

It’s not their fault he fell for someone he can never have.

Cheren puts the thought out of his mind and turns to head home himself. He pulls his phone out to quickly text Alder that he’s on his way. He gets a response almost immediately.

> **FROM: Alder**
> 
> **Want me to come get you?**

He texts back, telling him he’s fine. It’s true that he’s not normally out this late alone, but he’s not that far from the apartment anyway. He knows his way back.

> **FROM: Alder**
> 
> **Be safe.**

Cheren smiles down at his phone before shoving it in his pocket and starting the walk home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A chapter appeared! I've been very busy lately with work, but I plan to continue (very slowly) making my way through this.


	10. Chapter 10

Cheren heads out early on Saturday morning to go to the bookstore.

There’s a new book out on move sets that he’d like to incorporate into the lesson plan he’s been working on. He needs to get busy. They’d done about a month’s worth of lessons in advance, but they’re halfway through those at this point. He doesn’t want to wait until the last minute. He supposes they could wing it if they _really_ had to – Alder is certainly knowledgeable enough - but that seems like a horrible idea.

Alder isn’t awake yet when he leaves, so he makes sure to close the apartment door behind him quietly before making his way to the store. He’s actually so early that they’re barely open when he gets there, just coming to unlock the doors as he walks up. It’s the same lady as usual, and he smiles at her while she lets him in.

“Morning,” he says.

“Good morning,” she greets, looking tired.

Cheren quickly moves through the store to the new release section, hoping the book he wants will already be on display so he doesn’t have to go find it on the shelf. He’s in luck. There’s a tidy pile stacked in the middle of the table, and he grabs a copy and heads up to the register.

“That was fast,” she comments, ringing him up and telling him the total. She gives him a thoughtful look as he swipes his debit card.

He feels her eyes on him and looks back at her curiously as she slides his book into a small bag.

“You know,” she starts, handing over the bag by the handle. “We’re looking for a part time employee. You wouldn’t be interested, would you?”

He blinks, surprised.

“You seem to know your way around pretty well,” she explains. “That’s all we really need. We get a little shorthanded when it’s busy.”

Cheren considers the idea for a moment. “I don’t know…” he says. “I’m only really free on the weekends.” It might be nice to actually have an income again, no matter how small, but… he hadn’t considered taking another job this soon.

“That would be good enough,” she insists.

He chews on his lip. He needs to think about it. “Would it be okay if I got back to you? I appreciate the offer, but I need to talk it over with someone first.”

“Sure,” she agrees. “Just don’t wait too long. We’ll probably start looking for someone this week.”

He nods and thanks her, heading home, bag swinging in his hand. He wonders how Alder would feel about him suddenly taking on something else. Obviously the school would remain his priority, but it seems iffy. And could he even handle doing both?

 

Alder’s up by the time he gets back home, messing around in the kitchen. “Hey,” he says, turning around as Cheren walks in. “I wondered where you were.”

“Bookstore,” Cheren explains. He stands there for a moment, considering whether he should mention the job offer. He decides to leave it for now. He’s not sure if he wants to accept anyway. There’s no point in bringing it up and worrying Alder for no reason.

Cheren heads into his room to grab his laptop and sets it up on the coffee table so he can take notes as he goes. He cracks open his new book on his lap and starts reading. He’s a couple pages in when he hears Alder’s phone vibrate. He doesn’t really pay attention until Alder curses and sets his phone back down with a thud.

“What’s wrong?” Cheren asks, looking up.

Alder groans, leaning on the bar counter and rubbing his forehead. “Burgh asked days ago if we wanted to go to some event at Studio Castelia with him this weekend. I completely forgot about it.”

“When?” He furrows his eyebrows. This is the first he’s heard of it. Then again, he hasn’t seen Burgh that much recently. He’s been too busy at the gym to stop by regularly.

“This afternoon.”

“Hm,” Cheren says. “Well, do you want to go?”

Alder sighs. “I guess.” He doesn’t sound particularly enthusiastic. “Do you?”

“I suppose I can....” Cheren watches Alder as he picks up his phone again to text Burgh back. “What time?” he asks, turning his attention back to his book.

“He says to meet him there at 3.”

He nods, glancing away from the page to check his watch. Cheren hadn’t really been planning on going anywhere for the rest of the day, but he should still have time to finish up the lesson. He shifts on the couch, trying to get comfortable so he can power through the book as quickly as possible.

 

Burgh is waiting for them outside of Studio Castelia when they arrive, alongside Iris.

Cheren waves at Burgh and politely greets Iris. He’s surprised to see her, plus he doesn’t exactly know her very well, despite meeting her several times over the years. She’s sort of friends with Bianca, but that’s about the extent of their relationship.

She smiles up at him before turning to Alder. “Hi! It’s been awhile!”

“Too long,” Alder agrees easily. “I didn’t know you were in town!”

“I’m just visiting for a few days.” Iris shivers as a gust of wind blows down the sidewalk, rustling her dress. She turns to Burgh, pulling on his arm. “Let’s go in. It’s too cold out here!”

Alder and Cheren follow behind as they go into the gallery. It’s surprisingly crowded, much more so than Cheren would expect, and it suddenly occurs to him that he has no idea what they’re doing here.

“Why are we here again?” he whispers, leaning close to Alder.

Alder leans back into him. His body heat against Cheren’s arm feels even warmer than usual after being out in the cold. Cheren tries to ignore it.

“Some new exhibit? I don’t know much about it either, but Burgh was really excited about it.”

“What a nerd,” Cheren comments.

Alder just grins in agreement, leaning away. Cheren tries to pretend he’s not disappointed.

Burgh hears his name and turns around. “Are you two talking about me?”

“No,” they answer in unison. He shoots them a suspicious look but continues walking through the crowds.

Cheren’s only been to Studio Castelia once, and it was years ago. Art isn’t really his thing, but he takes a look around as they head to wherever it is they’re going. It’s changed a lot since his last visit. He pauses to look at a painting that catches his interest, and Alder bumps into him, body solid against Cheren’s shoulder.

“Sorry,” Cheren apologizes, continuing on.

“Want to stick around afterwards?” Alder asks. “You haven’t been here in a long time, right?”

“Sure,” he agrees. They might as well, since they’re already here. It might be fun.

 

The exhibit turns out to be fairly interesting. The artist is there speaking, and Burgh lingers behind after the crowd has dispersed to talk to him. He’s young, Cheren guesses maybe around Iris’ age. Although he knows next to nothing about art, it’s obvious the kid is good. Cheren’s impressed. Burgh apparently is too, judging from how excited he looks.

He, Alder, and Iris stand off to the side while the two talk. Iris starts bouncing on her heels after several minutes, looking bored.

“He dragged you here too, huh?” Cheren asks.

She looks up and laughs. “He always does. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve been here. It’s alright though, I don’t mind. He loves it here.”

“It was pretty cool,” Cheren admits. He stares down at her head and notices how tiny she is next to him. He can’t believe someone so young managed to beat Alder. She gives him a questioning look, and he just shakes his head. “Nothing.” He doesn’t think she would appreciate the thought.

She just nods and turns the other way to say something to Alder. Cheren can’t quite hear them, but whatever it is, they laugh animatedly. Cheren suppresses a pang of jealously. He immediately realizes how pathetic that is and shoves his hands in his jacket pockets, feeling frustrated at himself.

It’s getting worse, isn’t it?

He frowns to himself, but he doesn’t have time to stew on it, since Burgh finally makes his way back over to them.

“Shall we go?” Burgh asks, looking pleased. Apparently the conversation went well.

“Cheren wants to look around, actually,” Alder tells him, nodding his head in Cheren’s direction with a smile.

To be honest, he doesn’t really feel like it anymore, but Burgh’s face lights up like a Christmas tree. Cheren doesn’t have it in him to argue when he looks like that.

“Splendid! Then let’s start over here,” he says, waving them over to a nearby exhibit. “This is one of my favorites!”

The area has gotten more crowded in the time they were standing around, and Alder places a hand on Cheren’s lower back to push him on ahead. It lingers there for a few moments, and Cheren’s stomach flip flops.

The gallery is more appealing to Cheren than it was the first time he visited, maybe because Burgh is around to add information. He seems to know everything about every work there. Art _is_ his thing, so Cheren supposes that makes sense. He probably knows a lot of the artists too.

The downside is, getting through everything like this takes forever. By the time they’re nearing their way back to the front, Cheren’s tired of standing and knows more about local art than he ever wanted to. Burgh’s just started another long winded explanation when the loud speaker comes on, announcing that the gallery will be closing in 10 minutes. Cheren almost sighs in relief before realizing Burgh intends to continue until they get kicked out.

 

Cheren sits at his desk after they get back home, tapping his fingers idly. He considers the job offer again, still feeling unsure. He hears Alder banging around in the kitchen and gets up, heading out of his room to see what he's doing exactly.

"What's up?" he asks, lingering in the doorway of the kitchen.

Alder turns around, pan in his hand. "I suddenly wanted brownies."

"Huh," Cheren says. Now that he's thinking about brownies, he does too. "Want help?"

"Why not?"

He walks over to the cupboard, slippers making a shuffling sound on the hard kitchen floor. "I'm assuming by brownies, you mean from a box, not from scratch, right?"

Alder laughs. "Well, yeah. I sure don't want them _that_ bad."

Cheren shakes his head fondly, pulling the box off the shelf and setting it on the counter. He’s in a slightly better mood since they got home.

He glances at the directions on the back to see what they need and grabs the eggs out of the fridge. Once he's got everything into the bowl, he slides it over to Alder to mix. He leans with his elbows on the counter and watches, marveling at how much faster mixing goes when you actually have any semblance of muscle.

He takes the bowl back when it's done and dumps the batter into the pan, sticking it in the oven and setting the timer. When Cheren turns back around, Alder is licking the batter spoon. He gives him a horrified look.

"You're going to get food poisoning," Cheren tells him.

Alder just seems amused. "No, I'm not."

"You will," Cheren insists. "You're going to die, and I'll have to tell everyone it was because you couldn't stop yourself from eating brownie mix."

"Alright," Alder shrugs. "Then you have some too, and that won't be a problem." He waves the spoon at Cheren, who backs away in alarm.

"No thanks."

"Come on, just a little," Alder grins, following after him.

"Absolutely not," he refuses, continuing to back out the kitchen. Alder smiles deviously, and Cheren realizes he needs to run.

Alder chases after him around the living room. Luckily, Cheren is younger and faster, despite almost tripping over his slipper a few times. Alder gives up on catching him eventually and stops, out of breath.

"I'm too old for this," he mourns, hands on his knees.

Cheren collapses on the sofa once he decides he’s safe, laughing. "You're ridiculous," he wheezes.

" _I'm_ ridiculous?"

"Yes!"

Alder drops into his chair with a sigh, and they wait for the brownies to finish baking. Cheren pushes himself up on the couch, staring over at Alder. 

 _God_ , he doesn't want to give this up.

He thinks about the bookstore again and wonders if it would actually be the perfect solution. He wouldn’t make a ton of money working just weekends, but it might be enough to get by for a while longer.

Cheren nods to himself, coming to a decision. Alder looks tired though, so he doesn’t want to bring it up tonight. He’ll wait until tomorrow.

 

By noon on Sunday, Cheren still hasn’t worked up the nerve. It’s silly, he knows. Alder is fine with just about everything. This, though… he’s not sure what his reaction will be. He starts to bring it up a few times and wimps out, changing the subject. Alder seems confused but doesn’t ask.

He kind of wishes he would.

Finally they sit down for lunch and Cheren tells himself to just do it already. He needs to hurry up if he wants to get down to the bookstore before they close. He jiggles his foot on the bar of the stool nervously, glancing over at Alder.

“I think I’m going to get a part time job,” Cheren finally says, staring down at his food. When he hesitantly looks up to gauge his reaction, Alder’s frowning at him.

“… Are you sure? I’ve told you before that I have no problem paying you, if it’s the money you need.”

Cheren shakes his head. “It’s not the same.”

Alder sets his fork down and sighs. He doesn’t look mad, just confused and maybe slightly disappointed. “I just don’t see why not.”

“I can’t rely on you for _everything_ ,” Cheren says. Alder opens his mouth to argue, but Cheren cuts him off before he can say anything. “I know you don’t mind, and I’m grateful for that, but I _do_. I want to be able to help pay for things like an actual adult. I’m going to run out of money eventually, if I don’t do something.”

Alder frowns at him. “I suppose there’s no convincing you, then?”

“No,” Cheren agrees. “And it’ll only be on the weekends, so you don’t need to worry. I definitely won’t let it interfere with my school obligations.”

Alder studies him for a moment. “Fine. You obviously don’t need my permission, but you have my blessing. When are you going to start looking?

“I already have something lined up,” Cheren says, somewhat sheepishly. “They asked me to work at the bookstore.”

“Oh. That was quick.”

“Yeah.” Cheren shrugs. “I’m not sure when they’ll have me start? I need to go talk to them later.”

“Hm.”

They finish eating in silence for the most part. Alder seems… alright with it. At the very least, it could’ve been much worse. Cheren’s relieved. He gets up when he’s finished and puts his plate in the sink.

“I’ll walk over there now and let them know,” he announces. Alder just nods, and Cheren heads into his room to change. Technically, he hasn’t been hired yet, so he probably needs to look halfway decent.

He comes back out a few minutes later, straightening his tie. Alder’s still at the bar and turns around to give him an approving look.

“You look nice,” Alder says, eyeing his blazer. He seems like he wants to say something else, but he stops there.

“Thanks.” Cheren colors slightly and turns away to grab his keys off the table, hiding his face. “Do you need anything while I’m out?”

“Nah.”

Cheren nods. “Alright. I’ll be back later then.” He shifts his bag on his shoulder.

“Good luck,” Alder calls after him.

 

It doesn’t take long at the bookstore. He learns that the woman who hired him is named Sheryl, and she gives him some paper work to fill out, which he does off to the side of the counter. Considering Cheren’s limited work experience, the forms are a little confusing, but he manages.

She asks him his size and hands him his uniform - a polo shirt with the store name on it, along with a schedule with his hours penciled in. Finally, he’s good to go. He thanks her again before he leaves and heads home, looking down at the paper she gave him as he walks.

He starts next weekend.

 

As usual, Alder’s reading when he gets back home. He looks up over his glasses when Cheren walks in. “How’d it go?”

“Uh,” he starts, momentarily distracted by Alder’s glasses slipping ever so slightly down the curve of his nose. “Good. I start next Saturday.” He shakes his head to get ahold of himself and puts his bag down, heading into his room to take off his blazer. He hangs up his uniform in his closet before coming back out and sitting on the couch.

Alder closes his book and removes his glasses, leaning forward to place them on the coffee table. “You’re definitely sure you want to do this, right?” he asks. “Are you sure you aren’t going to be overwhelmed with two jobs?”

“No,” Cheren admits, loosening his tie so he can relax. “But I’m going to try.”

“Alright,” Alder accepts.

They sit there quietly for a few minutes before Cheren realizes he never had Alder go over the lesson plan he did the day before. He grabs his laptop off the table and opens the file, leaning over the coffee table and handing it over to him.

“Look over this and see if you like it,” he says.

Alder sets the computer on his lap and scrolls through the document, reading through it quickly. He looks up at Cheren when he finishes.

“Well?” Cheren asks.

“It’s good,” he acknowledges, sounding impressed. “But it always is.”

Cheren takes his laptop back. “There’s nothing else you want added in?”

He shrugs. “I think you’ve covered all the basics, but I’ll let you know if I think of anything. Thanks, Cheren.”

“Okay.” Cheren reads through it one more time himself before closing the lid. He’s pretty happy with this one. It seems like he’s finally getting the hang of this thing.

“I’m going to be lost if you ever end up leaving,” Alder comments suddenly. His tone is light, but he has a serious look on his face when Cheren glances at him.

“I’m doing this because I _don’t_ want to leave,” Cheren tells him, hand tightening on his laptop.

He doesn’t stick around long enough for Alder to respond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally, another chapter! If you don’t count the epilogue, we’re now halfway through! I also wanted to ask if anyone would be interested if I made a tumblr tag to post progress updates and such once in a while? Let me know!


	11. Chapter 11

They don’t see Burgh again until midway through the week when he shows up after class ends, with a cheerful looking Iris in tow.

“Hi Cheren! Hi Alder!” she greets, immediately wandering off to check everything out. She peers through the doorway into the classroom curiously before turning back around with a twirl of her dress. “Wow, this place is nice! I’m impressed. Good job.”

“Thanks.” Alder grins at her. “So, what brings you two here?”

Burgh just shrugs. “She wanted to come see the place. I don’t think she believed me when I told her.”

“I was surprised!” she exclaims, walking back over to them. “Also, I wanted to come say goodbye. I’m leaving tomorrow.”

“Already?” Alder asks, sounding disappointed. “Sorry that we didn’t get to spend much time with you.”

She shrugs it off, not looking bothered. “It’s alright. I know you’re busy. Next time you won’t get off so easily!” She makes her way over to the stairs and looks up. “What’s up here?”

“That’s the study area,” Cheren tells her. “Want to see?”

“Yes please!” Iris practically bounces up the steps, Cheren notices with amusement. Her sandals make a thumping noise on the wood.

He smiles and follows behind her, wondering where she gets all of her energy from. By the time he’s reached the second floor, she’s already weaving her way through the tables and making her way to the bookshelves. She pulls one off the shelf and flips through it, pausing when something seems to catch her interest.

“I really am impressed,” Iris says. She doesn’t look up from the page. “I’m glad Alder’s finally found something he wanted to do. Thanks for helping him out.”

Cheren rubs the back of his neck awkwardly at the praise. “He’s helped me a lot too.”

Iris just smiles. “That’s what he does.”

“Yeah,” Cheren agrees.

There’s a moment of silence while she skims through the book in her hand. “You like him, don’t you?” she asks suddenly, glancing up at Cheren.

“What?” Cheren chokes out. “How-” His face flushes. Just because he’s started to come to terms with it himself, doesn’t mean that he wants other people pointing it out.

“It’s pretty obvious,” she says, an amused look crossing her face. “I won’t discourage you. I think you may be good for him, to be honest.”

Cheren’s not sure what to say to that, but she doesn’t seem to be expecting a response. She places the book in her hand back onto the shelf and takes a final look around the room. She nods to herself, looking satisfied. Cheren trails after her as she heads back downstairs, feeling a bit awkward.

Burgh glances up at Cheren on the steps. “Alder says you’ve gotten yourself a job.”

“Ah,” Cheren says, hand on the railing. His eyes flicker to Alder before answering. He can’t see his face from this angle. “Yeah.” The fact that Alder even thought to bring it up concerns him a little. They haven’t talked about it since. Is he still bothered by the idea?

“I think it’ll be great!” Burgh says, reassuringly. “Just don’t wear yourself out trying to do too much.”

Cheren nods, he and Iris making their way over to them. “I know.” He’s a little worried about that, but he’s going to do his best.

 

Cheren doesn’t have to be at the bookstore until 10 in the morning that Saturday, but of course he’s ready over an hour before he actually needs to leave. He leans against the couch, absently scrolling through his emails. There’s one from his mother that he’s been putting off answering. Truthfully, he’s not sure what to say to her. His life has become oddly domestic.

He sighs, checking the time again and pocketing his phone. He decides he may as well head out. It can’t hurt to be a little early.

Alder comes out of his room when he’s about to head out the door, still looking half asleep. He’s wearing only a pair of threadbare pajama bottoms, and Cheren looks anywhere but his chest. He doesn’t need to end up even _more_ nervous.

“Leaving?” Alder asks.

“Yeah.”

“Well, you know I’m not crazy about this whole thing, but I’m proud of you. Good luck.”

He blinks. “Thank you.”

Alder just ruffles his hair as he passes by him to go to the kitchen. His hand lingers for a moment, just resting gently on the top of Cheren’s head, but he doesn’t say anything more.

Cheren pulls away, but the damage has already been done. “I just fixed that,” he bemoans, attempting to smooth his bangs back down. He sighs and grumbles a goodbye as he leaves. If his heart is beating a little faster than usual, that’s his business.

 

The manager, _Sheryl_ , Cheren reminds himself, doesn’t seem to mind that he’s early. She just smiles and shows him how to clock in, then sets him off to shelf a cart of new books.

“Let me know if you can’t figure out where something belongs,” she tells him.

He nods, and away he goes. The majority of the books on the cart look like fiction, so he heads over to that section first. He glances at the first author and finds the spot without much effort. It’s not a difficult job. He’s organized plenty of books in his life. Admittedly, they’ve mostly been his own. He finishes fairly quickly and heads back to the front with the empty cart.

“Done already?” she asks, raising her eyebrows. “Nice job. Oh, leave the cart over there.” She gestures vaguely off to the side.

He joins her behind the counter, feeling lost and wondering what he’s supposed to do next. It reminds him of how he used to feel in Aspertia.

“You don’t have any retail experience, right?” she asks, sounding curious.

“Not really,” he admits.

“Hey, there’s nothing wrong with that,” she says. “I’m just going to have you bag and watch me today. I’ll show you the register tomorrow.” 

“Okay.” Cheren nods. He sure isn’t going to complain about that. He eyes the cash register, feeling somewhat terrified. It looks complicated. He’s not sure why it requires so many buttons.

It’s slow for the first hour or so, but then it picks up dramatically. He struggles with a plastic bag as the line backs up. “Sorry.”

“Take your time,” she says, smiling patiently.

It dies back down again around lunch time, much to his relief.

“Why don’t you take your break now?” she suggests.

Cheren nods and heads outside, crashing on a bench right outside the door. He pulls his phone out and starts to text Alder to complain. Halfway through, he changes his mind and erases the message. He’s trying to prove something here. He can deal with it. He tucks his hair behind his ear and sighs to himself.

After he estimates that his 15 minutes are up, he goes back in. There’s a line again, and he hurries over to start bagging their stuff. Once they’ve gotten through everyone, she hands him a list of books.

“I need you to pull these. They’re reserves that we keep back here behind the counter,” she explains, pointing towards the shelf behind them.

He nods. He’s been to enough book stores that he knows how the process works. He fetches the books on the list. There’re only a few, and she shows him how to tag them by customer. When he’s finished, he goes back to bagging. Occasionally she goes over buttons on the register with him. He’s pretty sure he won’t remember them by tomorrow. He’s not even sure he remembers then 5 minutes later.

Another employee shows up in the afternoon, but the store is so big that Cheren doesn’t really interact with her at all before he gets off at 4. He does introduce himself on his way out, and she seems nice enough.

Cheren says goodbye to the manager and starts walking home. He barely has the energy to get the several blocks back to the apartment. He shoves his hands in his jacket pockets and sighs again. The retail world is harder than he thought.

 

He collapses on the couch when he gets home, exhausted. He doesn’t even bother taking his jacket off.

“Fun day, huh?” Alder asks, looking amused from where he’s standing in the kitchen.

Cheren just groans, leaning back and closing his eyes. After a moment he forces himself to sit up. “It wasn’t _that_ bad, I guess. Kind of overwhelming. I haven’t done that kind of thing before.”

“That’s understandable,” Alder agrees. He leans over the bar, elbows on the counter. “You’ll get used to it.”

“I hope so.”

“So what’d you do all day?”

“Mm,” Cheren thinks. “Put books away. That kind of thing. I didn’t have to actually wait on anyone today, so that was good.”

“Sounds right up your alley then.”

He laughs. “That’s true. At the very least, I know how to do that much.”

Alder hums in agreement. “You hungry?”

Cheren realizes that he is, actually. He didn’t feel like trying to get something during his short break, so he hasn’t eaten since breakfast. He’ll have to start taking lunch with him. “Kinda.”

“What do you want?”

“Ugh. I don’t know. I don’t feel like dealing with it.” He’s so tired. He’s tempted to just go straight to bed.

Alder gives him a look of pity. “I’ll make it. Just tell me what.”

“Really?” Cheren asks, surprised but grateful. “Uh… pasta of some sort? Anything is fine.”

“You got it.”

Cheren leans against the arm of the couch while he waits, head resting on his arm. He watches Alder move around the kitchen and wonders how the hell he got so lucky. The ex-champion of Unova is making him macaroni out of a box. Unbelievable. He closes his eyes and must drift off, because Alder nudges him awake not long later.

“Cheren,” he says softly. His hand is warm on Cheren’s shoulder.

He blinks, sitting up and taking the bowl that Alder hands him. “Thanks.”

Alder sits down across from him and starts quietly reading the newspaper while Cheren eats. He’s halfway through his macaroni when he happens to look up and sees Alder staring at him over the page.

“What?” Cheren asks.

He just shrugs, going back to his paper.

“Okay,” Cheren mumbles, feeling self-conscious. He gets up when he’s done eating and puts his bowl in the sink. He digs through the cabinets for a container to put the leftovers in. He can just take it for lunch tomorrow.

 

By the next weekend, Cheren’s seriously beginning to wonder if he made a mistake taking on another job. He barely made it through the week, and he now has another day and a half ahead of him at the bookstore.

He’s _sort of_ been trained on the register at this point, so the manager leaves him there alone while she goes off to work on the floor. He’s pretty uneasy about it, but at least she’s not that far away if he needs help. It’s not that busy at the moment anyway.

A customer comes up to the counter, and he plasters a smile across his face. “Hi. Find everything okay?” He manages to successfully ring her up and feels ever so slightly proud of himself as she walks away. “Have a nice day,” he calls as she leaves. Maybe he can do this after all.

The store stays mostly empty for a while after that. Cheren’s just starting to get bored standing around when the bell above the door jingles. “Welcome-” he starts, before realizing the customer is _Nate_. “Woah. Hi,” he says, surprised. He hasn’t seen Nate in a long time. He was off traveling when Cheren was working at the gym.

Nate looks over, and his mouth drops open. “Cheren?” he asks, immediately making his way over to the register. “I wondered where you were!”

“Here I am,” Cheren says, wondering if he can get away with skipping the explanation. He changes the subject instead. “What are you doing here?” He’s not surprised to see Nate in _Castelia_ , it’s a popular city, but he doesn’t necessarily seem like a big reader.

“Oh, I’ve gotta find a birthday present to send my mom. Any ideas?”

Cheren thinks for a moment. “I might have something.” He’s been working just long enough that he’s started noticing which books are the top sellers.

“That’d be great!” Nate grins at him.

He glances around the front of the store quickly and decides it’s probably safe to leave the register for a minute. He leads Nate over to the new release section and picks up two that he’s already sold several copies of just this morning. Despite his time in Aspertia, he doesn’t know Nate’s mom that well, but he’s had enough customers rave to him about the author that he thinks they’re a pretty safe bet.

“You pick,” Cheren says, handing them both over to Nate.

“Hmm.” Nate squints down at the covers, inspecting them. “This one looks cooler,” he decides, putting the other one back down on the table.

“I think so too,” he agrees.

Cheren quickly rings him up on the register. He manages to hit the wrong button, setting off an obnoxious beeping noise. He laughs nervously, a little embarrassed, but Nate doesn’t seem to notice or care.

“Thanks!” Nate says, taking his bag. He looks like he wants to say something, but a customer comes up in line behind him. “Wanna do something when you get off?” he asks, throwing a glance over his shoulder.

“Sure,” Cheren agrees, and he means it. He’s always liked Nate. He tries to think if he still has his number to call him later and isn’t sure. “I’ll be done at 4. Want to just meet me back here?”

“Sounds good,” Nate agrees. He moves out of the way and waves as he pushes the door open to leave.

 

Nate is waiting outside the store when Cheren gets off, leaning against the brick entrance. He’s staring down at his Pokedex, visor casting a shadow over his eyes, but he looks up when Cheren walks over. “Hi!” he chirps, face immediately lighting up.

Cheren wonders what it’s like to be so… _enthusiastic_ about seemingly everything. Is he just getting old?

“Hey.” Cheren smiles back. He undoes the top button of his uniform, wishing he had brought an extra shirt in his bag. He feels silly walking around with a logo on him. “So what do you want to do?”

Nate makes a thoughtful face. “Ice cream?”

Cheren just nods. “I know a good place then.”

He takes him to an ice cream parlor that he’s been to a couple times. It’s a cute place, maybe _too_ cute for Cheren, but Bianca loved it when he brought her. He’s not surprised when Nate seems to as well. They stand in line to order, and the owner’s Vanillite hovers in the air next to them.

“Hey buddy!” Nate coos, sticking a finger out and grinning from ear to ear.

They get their ice cream and snag a table near the window. Nate waves his spoon at Cheren. There’s a tiny smiling ice cream cone on the handle. “This place is so cool!”

Cheren laughs. “I figured you’d like it.”

They eat in silence for a few minutes before Nate puts his ice cream down. “So you have to tell me… what happened exactly? I went back home recently, and they told me you just took off!”

Cheren resists the urge to sigh, wondering if he’ll ever stop having to explain himself. He can’t be annoyed at Nate though, it’s only natural that he’d be curious. “It just… became too much,” he says vaguely.

“Hmm,” is all Nate says. Cheren wonders if he senses that he doesn’t really want to talk about it. He takes another bite of his ice cream. “So do you like it here?”

“Yeah, I really do. More than I thought I would.”

“Good!” Nate nods. “Then that’s all that matters.”

Cheren smiles at his simple minded-ness. “More importantly, what have you been up to?”

“Nothing exciting. Training, mostly.”

“So beating Iris wasn’t enough for you, huh?” Cheren asks, amused.

“No way!”

He shakes his head. Sometimes Nate reminds him so much of Black.

They sit around talking until well after they finish eating. Finally, Cheren decides he better head home. It’s been nice seeing Nate again, but he’s _so tired_. He’s still not used to this whole working thing.

“Give me your number,” Nate demands before they leave. “I don’t have yours anymore, or I would’ve given you a call before!”

They trade numbers for the second time and go their separate ways. When Cheren looks back, Nate is still standing there on the sidewalk waving.

 

“Hey,” Cheren says as he walks through the door. “You’ll never guess who I saw today.”

Alder peers over his newspaper. “Who?”

“Nate.”

“Really?” Alder asks, seeming interested. He folds up his paper and tosses it to the side. “He’s a good kid. What’s he up to?”

Cheren shrugs as he puts his bag down. “Nothing new, really. We hung out for a little bit after I got off. It was fun. I hadn’t seen him in forever.” His phone vibrates in his pocket, and he pulls it out, surprised to see that he already has a message from Nate. He just saw him, after all. He opens the message and stares down at his phone.

> **FROM: Nate**
> 
> **It was so good to see you again!! Honestly, I’ve always had the biggest crush on you hahaha. Call me anytime if you want to meet up!!**  

“Uh,” is all Cheren can think to say. Did Nate somehow text the wrong number? No, that can’t be right... “What.”

“What?”

He hesitates for a moment before handing over his phone.

Alder raises his eyebrows. “Well, I guess he thought it was fun too.” He hands it back to Cheren with an unreadable expression.

Cheren sits down on the couch, wondering how he’s supposed to respond to something like that. For a second, he wonders if he should consider it. Like Alder said, Nate’s a nice kid. He’s cute, and they get along fairly well. It’s not like he has many options available.

Then he looks up at Alder and realizes there’s no way that he can do that to Nate. It’s not that he doesn’t have any other options. The reality is, he’s in the biggest city in Unova, and if he _really_ wanted to find someone, he probably could. The problem is that he doesn’t _want_ any other options.

It would be wrong to lead Nate on when he’s still so hopelessly stuck on someone else.

“What are you going to do?” Alder asks.

“Tell him thanks, but no thanks, I suppose.” Cheren starts typing out a reply. He feels bad and hopes Nate isn’t very serious about him. He’s pretty sure he’s not. At the very least, Cheren never noticed a thing.

“Maybe you should give him a chance.”

Cheren’s fingers pause on the screen, stomach dropping. He glances up at Alder before looking back down at his phone. “No,” he says, trying to sound unaffected. It comes out sharper than he intended.

Alder blinks, looking taken aback. “Alright.”

“I’m not interested in dating anyone right now,” Cheren says. It’s not really a lie.

“Ah.” Alder seems more understanding this time. “That makes sense.”

Cheren sends the text, getting up and going into the bathroom where Alder can’t see him. He leans against the sink and rubs his face, feeling sick.

He hates this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's this?! It hasn't even been 6 months between chapters?! I would ideally like to start getting this updated more frequently, but we'll see what life throws at me.


End file.
